The Beauty and the Geek
by Hilaryh25
Summary: Elizabeth Hotchner joins the BAU to work along side her older brother, stop serial killers, become a part of the FBI family and falls in love with her teammate.
1. Chapter 1

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **A/N: I have had this story in my head for a long time and I have been trying to find a legit website for the transcripts but couldnt find any that showed me who said what but I'm going to try my hardest to write this story the best I can because I just have to get it out of my head. Also this is a slooooow burn for Spencer and my OC. I hope you enjoy and any advice, positive or negative are always welcome.**

Elizabeth Hotchner arrived at the FBI building and sat in her car looking at it, her heart was beating rather fast. She had just finished up her schooling at Mary Baldwin College, the same school her older brother Aaron Hotchner went to, when Aaron called her to offer her a job at the BAU as a member of his team. She spoke to her brother on occasion and they were close when they were kids, she missed him and now she was given the chance to work with him everyday. Finally she gathered herself, grabbed her purse and headed inside, the receptionist told her what floor she needed to head to so she got in the elevator and headed up. When she reached the floor and stepped out she saw the glass doors that lead into the BAU, she took a deep breath and headed inside, when she did she looked around at everyone who was there when suddenly she saw a girl with blonde hair walk past her.

"Um excuse me I'm looking for Aaron Hotchner's office." She said to the woman who turned and looked at her.

"And you are?"

"Oh I'm sorry my name is Elizabeth, I'm here for an interview." Elizabeth said and noticed the woman gave her a once over then smiled.

"Oh right, Hotch's office is just up those steps, second door." The lady said.

"Thank you..."

"Jennifer Jareau, but most people call me JJ." She said reaching her hand out.

Elizabeth took it shaking it, "Nice to meet you." She said then walked by the row of cubicles quickly glancing at people then made her way up the steps, when she reached her brothers office she knocked on the door, she heard muffled voices then heard Aaron telling her to come in.

When Elizabeth walked in she saw Aaron sitting at his desk and next to him was another older man.

"Hello Elizabeth." Aaron said to her and she smiled, but she had to be professional even though she wanted to run over and give him a hug, "This is SSA David Rossi."

Elizabeth looked at the other man and reached her hand out, "HI, it's nice to meet you I'm a big fan of your work." She said and Rossi shook her hand.

"Thank you it's nice to meet you too." He said and Elizabeth sat down in the chair across from Aaron, suddenly she felt like she was 16 again and Aaron was interigating her about her whereabouts.

"David this is Elizabeth Hotchner." Aaron said and Rossi looked between the two of them.

"Hotchner?"

"Yes, she's my little sister." Aaron told him and Rossi smirked.

"I thought I saw the resemblance." Rossi said and Elizabeth looked at Aaron.

"You didnt tell anyone my last name?" She asked.

"I thought I'd have a little bit of fun." Aaron said and she shook her head.

"Same old Aaron." She said and Aaron chuckled.

After about 20 minutes talking to both Aaron and Rossi, Elizabeth was hired on as the teams new profiler, they exited his office and made their way down the steps.

"Guys I'd like to introduce you to our newest member of the team." Aaron said and four other people look up from what they were doing, "This is Elizabeth." Aaron gestured to her, "Hotchner." He finished and everyone looked at her then each other in shock.

"Wait. Hotchner? As in?" A woman with black hair asked.

"As in his little sister." Elizabeth said and looked at Aaron with a smirk.

Everyone walked over and shook her hand welcoming her, she met Derek Morgan, Emily Prentiss, JJ whom she met earlier and lastly Spencer Reid who she took a little longer then normal looking at but quickly looked away when she felt Aaron's hand on her shoulder.

"I want you all to make her feel welcome." He said and gave her shoulder a light squeeze, "This will be your desk right here across from Reid." Aaron told her, she looked at the desk then at Spencer, he gave a small smile in which she returned.

After Aaron walked away the others stayed there asking her questions like what was Aaron like growing up? Was he always so serious? She smiled at their questions and looked back into his office, she saw him looking at her and she stuck her tongue out at him which caused the corners of his lips to turn upward then she faced the others again. After 8 hours it was finally time for her to go home, she was standing by the elevator waiting for Aaron, they were going to grab a bite to eat and catch up, when someone walked up next to her.

"Easy first day?"

She turned and saw Spencer standing next to her, "Um yeah actually it was, although I'm sure not everyday will be like this." She said and looked at Spencer studying him as much as she could without being obvious, Aaron told her they werent aloud to profile each other but for some reason she wanted to know more about Spencer. He was wearing a light blue button up shirt with a grey sweater vest over it, a dark blue tie, and khaki pants with a pair of nice slipper dress shoes with mismatched socks. He had a dark shoulder bag slung over his shoulder and was lightly gripping the strap indicating he was nervous, his hair was to the nape of his neck and he has shifeted on his feet at least two times since they have been standing there proving that he was nervous. Why was he nervous? Was it because of her? It couldn't be he only just met her, no he was nervous because there was a new member of the team and this new member was the sister of their boss. During their conversation she noticed Spencer would shift his eyes from her to the floor, he must of been one those kids in high school.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to say something Aaron walked through the glass doors, "Ready?" He asked her and she nodded.

"It was nice talking to you Spencer." She said and her and Aaron got into the elevator, she wasnt sure why but she knew one thing was for certain, he was definately going to be a distraction.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Beauty and the Geek**

It had been about three weeks since Elizabeth joined the team and already she was being accepted into the family, although it has been a crazy couple of weeks, Penelope was shot and survived, she was getting closer to each member including Spencer when they would talk about literature. Over the course of those weeks she started to develop feelings for Spencer, even though it was hard for her to open up again.

She was sitting across from Reid at the round table, they all got a call late that night about a case.

"I know it's late, and I know we're tired but we've got two dead cops." Aaron said sitting down next to her.

"Alright, the resident Rod Norris was DOA, but they're still trying to ID the remains of the second victim whom they believe is his sixteen year old daughter Jordan." She held up a pictured and Elizabeth took a deep breath. "From the condition of the remains she would have had to have been inside the house, close to the source of the blast." JJ said.

"Clearly the bombing set the officers up for an ambush." Emily said.

"It's a well established terrorist tactic." started Reid.

"First wave takes out civilians, second wave takes out responders." Elizabeth added, Reid looked amazed at her but she kept foucused.

"So the locals are thinking terrorism? In West Bune, Texas?" Morgan asked.

"Not exactly a big target but DHS did issue a terror alert for the border states yesterday. Just due to the timing and nature of the attack." JJ said answering him

"Yeah but I've never even heard of this place."

"I have. It's a small town close to the border. My roommate in college was from there and we went down to visit one weekend. So this may be traffickers sending a message." Elizabeth said.

"Whoever it is, they've gunned down two cops and blew up a teenage girl. Until they're stopped, no one in that town is safe." Rossi said.

"We need to be cautious with the locals. They've lost two of their own, they're anxious, they're scared and they're gonna want revenge." Aaron said

"Can you blame them?" Rossi said.

When they landed they went to the crime scene to talk to the sheriff's

"Sheriff Hallum?" JJ asked him

"Ma'am."

"I'm Agent Jennifer Jareau." she shook his hand. "This is the team agents Hotchner, Morgan, Prentiss, Dr. Reid, Elizabeth Hotchner and Rossi." She said and he shook all our hands, "We're all very sorry for your loss." JJ said.

"Thank you. Where do we start?" Hallum asked

"First victim Rod Norris." said Hotch.

"He manages the Chemical Plant over at ibis. No arrests in 10 years since his wife left him, I can't blame her for leaving him. But it's a shame she left Jordan behind."

"What can you tell us about Jordan?" Elizabeth asked.

"Sweet girl, a bit slow."

"Slow? She was mentally challenged?" Emily asked him.

"Not quite. Special ed and all that stuff. Takes some talking to her to notice it. I think her mother leaving took it's toll."

"Sheriff I'd like to gather your people in the office so I can brief them all together." JJ said.

"Sure, but I'm staying here."

"Of course, thank you." She said to him

Elizabeth walked around the house with Reid, Morgan, Hotch and Rossi. Reid stood near the middle of the kitchen.

"The blast was localized here." Spencer said

"The room has been sealed off. There's some plastic, duct tape on the doorsills. Windows too." Elizabeth pointed out

Rossi picked something up and smelled it, "Cordite. Gunpowder."

Reid looked at the file, "They found a dozen canisters it says."

Elizabeth walk over by the door, "Well, the concentration of damage puts the canisters right here by the door."

"He seals the kitchen, blows out the pilot light, trapping the gas in here. Near the primary charge. If she was here," He moved a little. "between the charge and the window, boom." Rossi noted.

"Rod Norris ends up in the tree. Jordan ends up in the field." Elizabeth said

Reid looked around the house once again, "They didn't care about the rest of the house. So the whole thing's designed to focus the blast on whoever came through that door."

"Yeah but what was the trigger?" Rossi asked

"Rod Norris," Elizabeth said holding up a burnt carton of cigarettes, "He was the smoker."

"And they knew he would be coming through that door." Rossi said

"And they knew he'd be smoking when he did it." Spencer said

Elizabeth walked into the back with Reid.

"They knew each other?" They heard Sheriff Britt ask.

"Enough to know that Rod Norris would be smoking when he came in the back door." Elizabeth said

"And that Lou Savage was on duty and would respond." Morgan said.

"So what are we talking about here?"

"This wasn't terrorism, domestic or otherwise. Terrorist rarely know their victims, at least personally." Hotch said.

"Because they knew Rod Norris was a smoker who used his back door?" the Sheriff asked.

"And shot Deputy Savage in the face at point blank range." Morgan said

"So then they weren't being thorough?"

"No. He walked past Letts who was alive. Shoots Savage in the face when he knew he was already dead. Responders were coming, that last shot was risky overkill." Morgan said

"Overkill means rage." Reid said.

"And rage means a close personal relationship." Elizabeth finished

"Sheriff can you think of anyone with a close personal connection with Rod Norris and Lou Savage?" Morgan asked him.

"I didn't think about it, becuase of the terror alert."

"Think about what?" Aaron asked.

"Owen. Owen Savage, Lou's son was dating Jordan Norris." said Britt.

"Reid, Elizabeth you two are coming with me to the Savage home."

"I'll take you there myself." the Sheriff said.

Elizabeth walked up the lawn with Britt, Reid and Hotch.

"My deputies couldn't find Owen at home." Britt said and when they got up the steps the door was open and they walked through.

"How long did you know Lou Savage?" Hotch asked.

"My whole life."

"And Deputy Savage's wife?" Aaron asked as they advanced further into the house

"Hope."

"How did she die?" Elizabeth asked

"Drunk driver in 02. Lou was in Afghanistan. Owen lived with us until he got back."

"Sempre fi." Spencer said and Elizabeth looked at him and he looked back at her before walking thorugh a doorway looking up at the wall.

"How long was Lou Savage in the Marines?" Morgan asked

"Twelve years. He was discharged so he could raise Owen."

"Is that why he resented him?" Spencer asked and Elizabeth looked back at him when he came to stand bheind her.

"Pardon me?" Britt asked

"Uh, did Lou blame his wife and son for ending his career in the Marines?" Spencer asked him

"Lou was a good man." Britt said.

"A good man who doesn't have a single photo of his dead wife and only son anywhere in the entire house." Spencer said

"I know this is hard, and if we had more time we'd be more sensitive. But we don't." Aaron said getting involved

"Hope was the drunk driver. I didn't write it up that way, but it didn't matter. Her drinking was no secret in town." Britt said

"Where's Owen's room?" Elizabeth asked.

"Right over there."

She walked past Spencer and into the room, Spencer followed me. He went to the computer, but it was password protected.

"Gun safe was empty." Morgan said walking inside.

"That's a surprise." said Reid.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes but said nothing.

"That's James Dean's Porsche. No pics of James Dean though. That's a bad sign." Morgan said

"Well you have to admire the Porsche." Elizabeth said and he chuckled.

"Especially when your mother died in a car accident. Still haven't found the father of the year award." Spencer said and I looked at him

"You already check his computer?" Morgan asked

"It's password encrypted." Spencer said

"Well, smart move if your dad's a cop." Elizabeth said

"Ah, assuming he cares enough to snoop." Spencer said to them

"Hey Reid, check yourself. That sheriff out there wanted to take your head off, I think Hotch might of let him." Morgan told him

"All his cloths are black." Elizabeth pointed out looking through Owen's drawers

Spencer opened the closet with a creak, "Same here."

"Just like his friend Johnny Cash. So Owen identifies himself as a misunderstood loner. You know I wish all our unsubs would just tack their profiles on the wall like this." Morgan said and Elizabeth nodded

"It doesn't mean anything. What you grew up in Chicago, a high school jock. You had pictures of Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan all over your walls, trophies everywhere?" SPencer asked

"Yeah. But you forgot Walter Peyton. Not to mention the sexy ladies of the Sports Illustrated swim suit issues." Morgan said making an hour glass figure with his hands, Elizabeth rolled her eyes at him, "What?" He asked her

"No it makes sense." she said with a smile and Morgan shrugged.

"Okay what about you Beth? What was plastered all over your walls?" Morgan asked her.

Elizabeth shrugged, "Mostly pictures of family, but a lot of my wall space was filled up with Doctor Who stuff." She said and Spencer looked at her, "What?"

"You like Doctor Who?" He asked her.

"Is the TARDIS blue?" She asked him with a smile.

Spencer raised his eyebrows up and doen then looked back at the closet, "Smart money says you didn't paint your mirrors black."

"Well then I guess Owen didn't like what he saw." Morgan said, a woman's shouting reached them and they walked out.

"Don't you try to stop me! I need to get by!" They walked down the stepps behind Aaron "Is it true?!"

Britt walked down, "Sarah please…."

"If it's true you tell me!" She yelled

"Sarah…."

"Did Lou's freak son shoot Byron?!" She asked

"Go home to your kids Sarah. The kids need you at home."

"My children need their daddy! Send them home, you don't need them. You know what to do! You find that little son of a bitch! You find him and you do what's right." She snapped and walked away

"Why do I get the feeling she's not going to be the only one with that sentiment?" Morgan asked and Aaron looked at him.

"Stay here, work the room. Reid, Elizabeth and I are gonna go to the high school and talk to Owen's teachers. We need to get a profile and figure out where he's going." Aaron said and they headed down the steps.

"He's heading out of town. We found his car out by the interstate. Right next to victim number five." Sheriff Britt told us.

"As Owen's councilor, what can you tell us about Jordan and Owen?" Aaron asked

"Not much. They started dating last year when Owen moved to special ed." The counciler told him

"Junior year…isn't that a bit late?" Elizabeth asked

"Yes, if he'd been put there for academic reasons."

"What was the problem?" Hotch asked.

"Bad attitude, lack of effort. Owen applied himself in some classes, he did very well. But it didn't last….here." He opened the door and they walked inside.

"The problem wasn't lack of effort or bad attitude. The A's in math and science tells us he's a gifted student. The D's in English and History, that tells us he has difficulty reading. And the F in Geometry, that indicates a severe problem with spatial relations. That's further confirmed by his atrocious and illegible handwriting." Spencer said

"All consistent of a brilliant, but severely learning disabled child." Hotch said ggrabbing the file from Reid

"Yeah but his standardized tests didn't support that kind of intelligence." The counciler said

"A spacial relations handicap affects your hand-eye coordination! He could fill in an answer bubble easier than he could hit a baseball." Spencer said a bit frustrated.

"Which is why he stayed away from sports." Elizabeth added, "I can relate."

"Yes you could Troublebeth." Aaron told her and she glared at him.

"Sports was a sore spot with his father." the counciler said and they looked at him. "I mean, he joined the wrestling team freshman year just to appease his old man, but uh…..that didn't work out." Then the office phone rang, "Excuse me." He said walking away from us.

"He was probably the smartest kid in class, he just couldn't prove it." Spencer said moving closer to Aaron and I, "Being the smartest kid in class is like being the only kid in class. He missed all of it."

"But schools like this can't meet the specialized needs of every student." Aaron said to him

"He gives it everything he's got, over and over again, and continues to fail. And the whole time, the whole time they tell him it's his fault!" Reid said. "I mean, it makes sense."

"No it doesn't! An undiagnosed learning disability does NOT add up to this level of violence. Not without severe emotional abuse. You know that." Aaron said and his phone rang, "You got something?"

They pulled up a video. Owen was in a towel and someone was behind a wall with a camera.

 _"Guys I'm not so sure I can do this."_ Owen said

 _"It's just us. It's not like you don't masterbate at home, right?"_

 _"No I do it man. I can't do it when you're watching me man."_

Elizabeth covered her mouth with her hand.

"He didn't know he was being filmed." Reid said.

 _"You want to be on the team, you gotta do it."_

 _"We all did it."_

 _"Okay, I'll try it."_

"Owen didn't tell you about this?" Reid asked.

"He didn't have to. It was posted to the school's networking site. We pulled it down immediately." The counciler said

"Once it's on the internet it's out there forever. Owen knew that." Elizabeth said.

"Did Owen tell his father about it?" Hotch asked him.

"Not at first. But when Owen quit the wrestling team his father confronted him about it. I mean, he blamed Owen for the whole thing."

"Owen joined the team to get his father's approval." Spencer said

"How were these boys punished?" Elizabeth asked

"Owen identified them, but on film all we have is their voices. I mean, even if they admitted involvement they'd just have to say Owen didn't have to do it."

"He didn't know he was being filmed!" Reid said and Elizabeth put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"Look….it's his word against theirs," The counclier said standing up, "I mean, parents would get involved, the school board, lawyers. I mean, cyber bullying is a hot issue right now. The whole thing would've ended up on 60 minutes. How's that gonna help Owen?"

"What did you tell him?" Hotch asked.

"I told him that dealing with bullies is a part of growing up." The counclier said and Elizabeth shook her head.

"Sounds familiar." Reid said.

He looked at Reid, "Boys have a way of sorting these things out for themselves."

"Yeah they sure do." Spencer leaned closer to the councilor away from Elizabeth's comforting hand on his shoulder. "Right now, Owen is out there sorting it out with an Assault Rifle!"

"Reid!" Aaron said Reid walked off and Hotch looked at Elizabeth, she nodded and went after him.

"Spence." She said after him, he didn't stop so she sped up and got in front of him. "I understand you're upset. Believe me when I say I am too! But making these people angry won't help Owen." He just stared at her "I know what it feels like….."

"No you don't, look at you. You're smart, pretty and nice!" Spencer told her

"I wasn't always that way. I didn't start looking like this until I was sixteen. You don't know my life, and I don't know yours. But right now we have a job to do. You need to remember that." She said and walked away before he could say anything else. When they got back to the station Garcia called and they gathered around the computer.

 _"He deleted everything but the one empeg. I'm walking Morgan through retrieving what he put in the trash but-"_

"We got three missing kids Garcia we need access to Owen's email" Aaron told her.

 _"The kid is tech savvy but fear not sir I'm tech savvy-er. Is that a word? It sounds like a word. If it is a word I'm it."_ Garicia said then took a sip of her coffee.

"DC Time Garcia." Emily said

 _"11:17 AM"_ Garcia said and Elizabeth snorted.

"DC-Decaf" Emily elaporated and Garcia looked at her.

 _"Right"_ She said and set her mug down then hung up

"Two alienated kids, no maternal presence, disfunctional relationships with dominating fathers who withheld love. They were made for each other." Rossi said

"Hm as lovers yes, partners in crime no. There's nothing in Jordan's profile that indicates violence, certainly not murder." Emily said to him

 _"A new empeg was just posted to the school's networking site."_ Garcia said coming back on screen, she pulled it up and they saw several boys in their underwear, hands over their heads. A song was playing.

 _"It was a joke man! We didn't mean anything by it!"_

 _"It was 3 years ago! No one even remembers it."_

 _"I do"_

 _"No, Owen."_

 _"Don't! Don't! Please no…."_

Owen shot them all, Elizabeth put her hand over her mouth and looked away.

"Garcia is there anyway to trace the mpeg to the computer who sent it?" Hotch asked putting a hand on his sisters shoulder

 _"It was sent from Jordan's PDA, but Owen's hacked the sim card. He's anonmyized it. It stops the phone from transmitting it's current position. Hackers do it to stop roaming charges. It's good for one call, and then the carrier turns off the service."_

"So even if it's turned on and he's using it we can't track it?" Elizabeth asked.

"Bingo."

"Have the cell company leave the service on in case he sends anything else." Hotch said to her.

 _"Yes sir."_

"Let's bring in Sheriff Hallum and see if he recognizes the background." Aaron said to us.

Elizabeth, Rossi, Aaron and Reid head to the sight were the boys were found, the lyrics of the song make Elizabeth start to think, "There's a man going around taking names….he decides who to free and who to blame. Everybody won't be treated the same." She said softly.

"Johnny Cash. From that song Owen was playing when he did this right?" Rossi asked.

"He's been taking names." Reid said, "He's acting out his revenge fantasies."

"The family, school and social dynamics do fit perfectly." Rossi said

Elizabeth shook her head, "He's not collecting names, he's collecting injustices." She said

"We're gonna need to give the profile." Aaron said and walked away.

"Once you've heard the profile you'll understand." JJ said to the room full of sheriff's

"We're wasting time, Owen's here and we should be knocking on doors." A sheriff said

"Not a good idea." Aaron told him.

"And why's that?"

"Because Owen's watching, he's monitoring the news, right now right he thinks you think he's gone he feels safe. If we start knocking on doors he gonna know he's not, he's gonna feel trapped." Aaron said

"Why the hell should we care about this little bastards feelings?"

"Alright we're here to help you bring in Owen Savage with minimum loss of life, the profile tells you how to do that." Elizabeth said to the cop.

"Owen Savage fits the profile of a type of school shooter known as an injustice collector, he's trying to avenge perceived wrongs." Reid said

"If he's a school shooter why hasnt he hit the school yet?" Hallum asked.

"Jordan." Emily said, "Most of these guys are so angry and hopeless they just to kill as many people as possible and commit suicide but Jordan gives him a reason to live." Emily said and I looked at Reid who was looking down at the ground.

"Otherwise the text book case, his life was one torment after another, his teachers gave up on him, his classmates bullied him, and his father blamed him while giving him access to guns. Given these conditions you're actually quite fortunate." Reid said and the cops looked at him with anger.

"It sounds like you're saying these victims deserved this." The one sheriff said

"We're not. No one deserves this." Aaron said

"But you could've prevented it." Reid pointed out

"Reid can I talk to you." Hotch said and they both walked away.

When they came back Reid started heading towards the door, "Elizabeth will you go with him?" Aaron said and she looked at Spencer who gave her a side glance and headed out the door.

"Um..sure." She said and followed him, when she got to the car Spencer was sitting in the drivers seat waiting, "I was afraid you left without me." She said but he kept looking forward, "Okay then," She got int the car and closed the door, "Lets go."

Spencer put the car in drive and pulled out of the station, after a little bit Elizabeth couldn't stand the silence anymore.

"Do you wonder why Aaron called me Troublebeth?" She asked Reid and he shrugged, "Bac in highschool after our father died I kind of, spiraled out of control, I got in fights, skipped class, suspended, almost got expelled if it wasn't for our other brother Sean who talked the principal into keeping me there, I pretty much fell into the wrong crowd. Now I know it's not the same situation as you or maybe it is, but while I was in that stage I got picked on, that's what 90 percent of the fights were." She said and put her hand on his shoulder, "I don't know what happened to you in high school Spence, and I'm sorry you had to go through whatever it was, but maybe if we had known each other then I could've stuck up for you. You're my friend after all." She said and nocticed Spencers hands loosen on the steering wheel, she took her hand away and looked back out the window.

ELizabeth was walking back with Morgan after looking throughout the rest of the house for anything missing, "Garcia restored all those emails." Morgan said and theyh walked back intot Owen's bedroom.

"Yeah, I'm sorting through them right now." Reid said

Morgan goes and sits on the bed, Elizabeth walks around the room, "Reid, you know you're not the only one who identifies with him. You said I was a high school jock and I was, but not at first. My freshman year I was 5'3". I weight a buck 20 soaking wet. So trust me when I tell I got my ass kicked every day. So the following summer I hit the weights and I got lucky. I grew six inches. But it was never about vanity Reid, it was about survival."

"I was in the library and Harper Hillman comes up to me. And she tells me that Alexa Lisben wants to meet me behind the field house. Alexa Lisben's easily the prettiest girl in school." Reid said

"So what happened? Alexa wasn't there?" Morgan asked

"No she was there, but so was the entire football team." Elizabeth was looking at something on Owen's dresser when she felt tears trying to come out. "They uh, stripped me naked and tied me to a goal post. So many kids were there you know, just watching."

"Nobody tried to stop them?" Morgan asked

"No. I begged….I begged them to. But they just….they just watched. And finally they got bored and left. It was midnight when I finally got home. And my mom didn't…mom was having one of her episodes and didn't even realize I was gone."

"You never told her what happened?"

"I never told anybody." Spencer said, "I thought it was one of those things that I thought if I didn't talk about it I could forget. But I remember it like it was yesterday."

"Ah, Reid, you don't need an eidetic memory for that. You know we forget half the stuff they teach us in school. But when it comes to the torment and the people who inflicted it we all have an elephant's memory." Morgan tells him

"Owen just wants to forget and I know what that's like."

"He's been making a big deal about saying goodbye to Jordan in all his emails, none of its short hand." Morgan said and Elizabeth looked at the computer. "That's odd."

"He never got a chance to say good-bye to his mother. Abandonment is his biggest fear, that's what he chose Jordan he thinks she'll never leave." Reid said.

"Owen's mother's death left him with severe issues of abandonment. If we can get Jordan away from him then we'll save her." Reid tells Aaron and Emily when we walk back into the station, "If we can get Jordan away from him we'll save her and we'll take away his reason to live." He added.

"He'll take his own life." Hotch said.

"It's the only way we can save Jordan." Elizabeth said.

"How can we get her to leave him?" Aaron asked

"He's kept Jordan in the dark, she doesn't know about the murders." Reid said.

"You want to tell her?" Hotch asked.

"If we can." Morgan answered.

"We can get her to turn herself in." Prentiss said.

"But even if we could talk to her, the only person she trusts is Owen." Aaron said

"There's one other person. And she might be able to get the message to Jordan."

"Eileen." Elizabeth said.

"Alright, Elizabeth, Prentiss and JJ go talk to Eileen."

"Jordan doesn't know what Owen's done. She doesn't know of the danger she's in." JJ said to Eileen who was sitting at her computer.

"Owen loves her. He would never hurt her." Elieen said

"If the police find him and he's trapped he will." Elizabeth said, "We've seen it before."

"And even if he doesn't she'll get caught in the crossfire." Emily said

"We've seen that before too." JJ finished

Eileen still didn't seem convinced. Emily sighed, "We're trying to save Jordan. You are the only person she'll listen to." she said.

"We want to send a text explaining the reality of the situation." JJ said gently.

"You wanna protect her and be her friend, this is your last chance." Emily said.

Elieen took a deep breath and nodded, "Jordan, there are some people here with me who want to talk to you, listen to what they have to say, their from the FBI."

"You're doing the right thing." Emily said reassuringly.

"It don't feel right." Elieen said, she got up and left, Hotch and Spencer came in and Spencer sat down at the chair.

"Send her the news coverage." Hotch said.

"Tell her to look at the pictures, tell her we know Owen didn't tell her what he did." Elizabeth said

He sent the news coverage and she sent back a text, _"You liars_."

"Send the mpeg." Aaron told him

"Tell her, when the police come for him he will kill you and then kill himself." Emily said.

 _"You lie, Owen loves me."_ She logged off and Elizabeth closed her eyes

"She's gone now what?" Spencer asked.

"We've planted the seed now we wait." Hotch said softly.

They didn't have to wait very long. She logged back on. _"You were right. What do I do?"_ Emily read.

"Ask her where she is." Elizabeth said

 _"If I tell you, you will hurt him."_

"She won't tell us." Emily said.

"Ask her if she can get away." Aaron said

Spencer typed it in and she messaged back. _"I can try."_

Elizabeth took a deep breath, when she logged back on….it wasn't Jordan.

 _"You turned her against me."_

"It's not Jordan." Spencer said

"Somebody please tell me we didn't just get Jordan killed." Elizabeth said and Aaron put a hand on her shoulder.

"Elizabeth, Prentiss and JJ go back to the station." Aaron said and they left.

"It was the right thing to do." JJ said.

"I know…I just, I really thought we could save her." Elizabeth said

"Elizabeth." Emily said

"We had no choice." JJ said

"Elizabeth." Emily said.

She turned and Jordan walked forward, she felt her heart leap, "Jordan" She said, they sat her down.

"I got to the car while Owen was digging. And he didn't see me until I started the truck. He tried to stop me but I just kept driving." Jordan said

"We need to know where he is." Emily said.

She shook her head and more tears fell, "You're gonna hurt him."

"We don't want to hurt Owen," Emily said, "But we think Owen might hurt himself or someone else if we dont get to him really soon."

More tears fell and she said, "He's at Stratman's ranch."

 **Spencer's POV...**

We drove to the ranch and I was reluctant. I went with Morgan to the body near the fence.

"Hey Hotch, we got a body back there." Morgan said

"Half-dug grave." I said.

"I found a note." Hallum said.

Hotch took it, "'I'm going to return my mom's necklace.' He may be going home to get it we didn't find it but it could be there. Sheriff you go there."

"And you?"

"Where's his mother buried?"

I started to take off my vest and Hotch came up to me, "Reid, what are you doing?"

"He's gonna force us to kill him. I don't need to be a part of that. You don't need me, "I handed him my vest and he nodded.

"Meet me at the station." Hotch said, I got into the car and drove back to the station, When I got back Elizabeth looked at me, I love the way she looks at me, I walked to the picture of his mother and took it.

"He was gone when he got to the ranch. We think he's going to his mother's grave."

"Isn't he?" Emily asked.

I went to Jordan, "He was gone when we got to the ranch. I wanna save his life but I need to ask you a question. The necklace….he gave it to you?"

"Uh I, left it at the ranch." She said and I walked away.

"He's coming here." I walked outside.

"Spencer wait! What are you doing? How do you know he's coming here?" Elizabeth called after me.

"It's what I would do." I said to her, "You need to go back inside. And take this with you…" I gave her my gun.

"Spencer what? NO! Spencer!" She shouted after me.

"Liz, do not shoot." I said but she shook her head staying where she was.

He walked into the street and Elizabeth stayed near the wall. Owen walked down the street.

"Owen! I don't have a gun." I put up my hands. "My name is Spencer, I'm with the FBI and I'm here to help you."

"You wanna help me I need you to stay back!"

Hotch, Morgan and Rossi pulled up.

"I know the only reason you joined the team was for your father. I know that he blamed you for…."

"STAY BACK!" Owen shouted, he raised the gun. He kept moving and I realized it was so Hotch and the others couldn't shoot him.

"I also know the only reason you killed Rod Norris and Kyle Borden was to protect Jordan. I know the harder you tried the worse it got. And it felt like everybody just stood there watching you suffer, and not a single person even tried to help." I said to him

"They didn't! They didn't!"

"I know you wanna escape and forget. Believe me when I say I know exactly how that feels. But you know what? You don't have to die." I said

"No, no I'm already dead." He said to me

"No, no you're not dead! If you die you're gonna leave Jordan behind like your mom left you. I know you dont want that, do you?

"Okay you bring her to me, alright? You bring her outside."

"We can't bring her outside Owen. But if you put the gun down I swear to god, I will take you to her.I promise nobody will hurt you. You'll say good-bye to her and you'll give her the necklace. What do you say? Put the gun down, let's go inside."

Owen put the gun down, Morgan ran up, "Don't move! Don't move." he said and Owen put his hands up. He gave me the necklace and we walked him inside. Hotch was not happy with me at all I could see it on his face as well as Elizabeth's, you could definately tell they were related, I didn't mean to scare her like that and right now all I wanted to do was pull her into a hug and kiss her, but I can't do that, she's my friend. Jordan looked at him with a tear streaked face, Owen looked at Jordan with hurt and sadness, she really was his reason to live, the reason he put the gun down. I turned my head and looked at Elizabeth, I may be to shy to tell her how I feel, but I felt the same as Owen, Elizabeth was my reason to live. We walked forward and I gave her the necklace, after one last small nod I took Owen away.

After Hotch got done talking to me on the plane I looked over at Elizabeth, she was reading one of her books when Hotch sat down in front of her and they started talking. I had began to develop a crush, I guess you could say, on her. Could I say anything? No. Why? A couple reasons, one she was Hotch's sister, two she was my friend, and three we were on the same team. There were so many complications with this whole thing, I mean, how can someone as perfect and beautiful as her possibly be with a guy like me? Even though she tells me everyday that she likes me for who I am as a person, and not what other people think of me. She's so amazing, wonderful, kind.

She's the beauty and I'm the geek.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **Elizabeth's POV...**

I was scared out of my mind, we were dealing with a terrorism group in New York, they knew our movements, already shot one of our agents down and are targeting civilians. The only good news of this whole thing is that JJ told us she was pregnant, but that also means I was scared for her life now more then ever. We were all seperated and heading back to the NYPD Command Center, I had no idea where Aaron was, or any other members of my team. As I'm driving there I hear something on the radio.

" _We're getting reports that an explosion has rocked the neighborhood in the vicinity of the federal plaza. Authorities have closed down the entire area And are not going to give any information at this time. And with 8 suspicious incidences in as little as 3 weeks, We have no room but to speculate whether or not there will be more attacks. We have no word yet on any injuries, But with the explosion heard as far away as prince street, An unconfirmed report said it was a car bomb. Nypd's emergency services, as well as federal..."_

"Oh god" I said as I started to panic, _Please be okay Aaron._ I thought to myself, I hoped the rest of my team were okay too, especially Spencer. Oh Spencer, my best friend who I am falling in love with, we are on the same team so it cant happen, so many things would get complicated, I mean what would happen if we broke up? Would I have to transfer to another team? Probably. Plus I'm not really sure Aaron would be okay with it, not only as my boss but as my big brother, he has always been protective like that. _Snap out of it Elizabeth, you're thinking like you and Spencer are already dating._

I got to the command center and rushed inside, I see Rossi and Spencer standing there watching the news. When I saw Spencer I wanted to wrap myself in his arms.

 _Thank god he's okay._ I thought to myself.

"Rossi, Spence, what's going on? I heard-" But before I could finish Rossi's phone rang.

Spencer turned and looked at me, "We don't know where it was, or where any of the others are. Are you okay?" he asked.

"To be honest I'm a little scared, I don't know where Aaron is, I knew was with Kate but what if-"

"Hey." He said and put a hand on my shoulder, "It's going to be okay. I'm sure Hotch is fine and he's on his way here."

I nodded trying to calm my breathing, I hear Rossi on the phone with Garcia.

"We got on the news it was an suv that exploded. A black suv within blocks of the federal plaza." He said, "Now, do you have eyes there? I'm here with Reid and Elizabeth, but I don't know where anyone else is. And, garcia... Find them." He said and hung up.

Later JJ arrived and I hugged her, "Has anyone spoken to the rest of the team?" She asked. We shook our heads, "Emily." She said and we looked.

"Oh, thank god you're all right where's will?" Emily asked her

"He's stuck at the airport. As soon as I heard, I went straight to 26 fed. They're evacuating the building. Where is everyone?" JJ asked

"Morgan's all right, but there's no word from Hotch." Reid said and I stood next to him chewing on my thumb nail, it's a bad habit I had when I was a teenager whenever I got nervous, Spencer must have sensed it because he looked at me and put a hand on my shoulder.

" _The bomber! The bomber! Derek's chasing after him."_ Garcia said coming on the laptop screen, " _The bomb-it was in kate's suv or under it."_

"Oh god" I said feeling my heart drop and Spencer kept his hand on my shoudler as we look at the screen.

" _Hotch is out there with her. He seems ok, but she looks really hurt. He hasn't moved her."_

"Where was kate's suv parked?" I asked her.

" _2 blocks east of federal plaza."_ She said and Spencer moved away from me to the map next to him.

"2 blocks east and they target kate's suv?" Emily asked out loud

"Have you i. D. Ed the bomber?" Rossi asked her

" _Lisa's running him and dead guy through vicap."_

"Call homeland security. They should be at all the murder sites." Rossi said to JJ

"I'm on it."

Spencer moved back over and placed his hand on my lower back this time, Not gonna lie it was sending shock waves through my body.

"Garcia, find out how we can help morgan." Rossi said

" _Yes, sir."_

"You okay?" Spencer asked me.

"You know that's the second time you asked me?" I said, "I need to know where Aaron is. I can't lose him Spence." I said and he hugged me.

"It'll be okay." He said and I nodded my head under his chin.

"Yes, yes, I understand. Thank you." JJ said hanging up the phone "Homeland security has poured tactical teams into all of those locations. Uh, swat, bomb techs, hrt, hazmat, the works. They found nothing." She said and looked at Spencer who moved back to the board, "Reid."

"All except one. Kate's suv- none of the shootings were anywhere near it." He told us.

"Maybe it's personal." I said, "This death card they gave us- they delivered on it."

"That's just it- they haven't. With a cell as large as this one and multiple targets to choose from, They target a single suv?" He said

"Morgan's safe." Emily says to us.

"This is the unsub morgan chased into the subway." Spencer said holding up a picture then putting it on the board, "This is the one Prentiss shot." He said pointing to another, "Garcia's running them through vicap."

"These are smart, well-educated kids, hand-picked and trained to be martyrs." Rossi said, "They're not gonna be in any government file and they won't have rap sheets."

"Hotch and kate are at St. Barclay's hospital." JJ said walking over to us puuting a hand on my shoulder.

"How are they?" I asked

"Well, Hotch is in the e.r., Kate's in surgery. Morgan's on his way down there now." She said and I nodded, I needed to be strong.

"The media's reporting this as a failed attack on 26 federal plaza." Emily said

"Well, it's not." Rossi said

"They're not the only ones. Homeland security feels the same way." Brustin said

"They're wrong." Rossi said defensively

"They found nothing at any of the sites that you told them that these guys were targeting. Maybe this thing is over."

"Or maybe that's exactly what they want us to think. As soon as the bomb techs identify the device, I want to know about it." Rossi told him

"Of course."

"Can you get in tighter on the bomber?" Rossi asked Garcia via phone, me Emily and Spencer are looking at the other laptop, "Here, in his hand. He's using his cell phone."

"Joyner and hotch approach the van." Brustin said

"Why not wait until they both get in?" Emily asked

"Guess he figured he was close enough."

"Wouldn't you wait until they were in it?" I asked

"So far these guys have accomplished nothing." Spencer said

"Nothing? My partner was shot-cooper?" Brustin said to him, "8 innocent people were killed. 2 agents blown up. Not to mention Emily's suicide by cop. Is that not enough?"

"That was memorable." Rossi said looking at a picture of the Twin Towers, "This isn't. Everything-everything they've done so far has appeared to be something it's not."

"I don't follow." Brustin said

"The seemingly random acts of murder, the attempt to hack into our security surveillance systems." Spencer said

"The suicide by cop to make us all believe that it was over." Emily pointed out

"Don't forget the death card telling us they know we're watching." I pointed out

"All diversions." Rossi said

"To ensure our attention and analysis of any given situation would than incorrectly inform our profile." Spencer said

"So the first responders were not the real target?" Brustin asked.

"Hotch and kate were a diversion, too?" I asked

"From what?" Brustin asked

"Morgan." JJ said to us, "Hotch wants you guys over there now." She said and we all got ready.

"What do we tell homeland security?" Brustin asked

"Tell them if they love this city as much as you do to keep it locked down. It's about to get hit." Rossi told him and we made our way out, Spencer was staying by my side the whole time.

We get to the hospital in our vests, as soon as I see Aaron I ran to him and hugged him.

"Are you ok?" I asked him and he looked at me.

"Yeah. I just want to understand why I'm still alive." HE said and I nodded moving away from him.

"I think the idea was to maim, not to kill." Spencer said

"Did you identify sam, the bomber?" Aaron asked him

"Garcia put sam and the other dead unsub into every know database. Nothing."

"We know how terror cells evolve. They learn from one campaign to the next. How to stay off radar like the london bombers." Rossi said

"Yeah, but they, uh, they hit at 8:50 in the morning With a series of coordinated blasts aimed at london's transportation system, this cell targeted a lone suv where the only people on the street are 2 federal agents." Aaron said

"It's not multiple targets, it's one target. One target, one bomb." Morgan said

"Garcia said the device was placed under kate's suv." Rossi said

"It was likely made using oxydizing agents, Including chromates, peroxides, perchlorates, chlorates, and red mercury, All jammed into a device no larger than a cell phone." I said

"Imagine what a bomb the size of an oil drum could do." Morgan said

"Yeah, but to make something that big, you'd need a chemical engineer." Aaron pointed out.

"Like the recently deceased dr. Azahari husin, asia's most-wanted bomb-maker? Authorities dubbed him the, uh, demolition man. He treated each bomb like a work of art. One wrong move... He becomes a victim of his own creation. He'll be more revered than all of the people who died as a result of his devices." Rossi said

"Stop the bomber, stop the bomb." Emily said

"To do that, we need to know how they would deploy something that big." Morgan said

I notice Aaron looking at the laptop, "Aaron?"

"Did you ever find Sam's cell phone?" He asked Morgan

"Yes." Morgan answered

"Did he call 911?"

"No. He dialed one number 6 times every few minutes." Morgan said

"It was a disposable cell." Rossi said

"Garcia tracked the number, but it went dead minutes after Sam died. Whoever had it destroyed it." Spencer said

"Well, if he didn't have a secondary device to detonate, There's only one reason that he stayed with us." Aaron said

"To make sure the ambulance got to you." I said

And in a city on lockdown, an ambulance with its siren blaring and lights on, It's gonna make it through every roadblock virtually uncontested." Emily said

"And straight into a hospital with a bypass order on it." Aaron said

"What?" I asked

"Secret service has a bypass on this hospital."

"Secret service? Who are they protecting?" Rossi asked

"That's who Sam was calling, the paramedic on the ambulance." Spencer said

"The ambulance which I drove in here. This hospital is their target. Let's go." Aaron said, "Who do you got in here?" Aaron asked the secret service agent.

"Why is that information important to you?"

"The ambulance I drove in here- where is it now?" Aaron asked

"In the basement. Why?"

"There's a bomb in it" Morgan told him

"What?"

"It's rigged." Aaron said

"It's rigged to assassinate whoever it is you're protecting. You need to get them and everyone else out of here right now." I said

"We can't do that. He's undergoing surgery as we speak." The agent said

"The paramedic I came in with- do you have eyes on him?" Aaron asked and looked at the laptop they had, "That a cell in his hands?"

"Garcia, can you remote access the cell phone grid I'm in and jam all the frequencies"Rossie asked over in phone, "There's a bomb in the basement of this building."

"Look, he's coming back." Emily said, "He's gonna detonate the bomb manually if he has to."

"Where did morgan go?" Aaron asked

"He went to find the ambulance." Spencer said and we see Morgan running down the stairwell

"Alone?"

"Let's head down." Rossi said

We all make our way through the hall with our guns raised and we stop by an elevator, "He's going to the basement."

"Stairs." Emily said and I look in the elevator.

"Oh, my god." I said and feel Spencer tugg on my arm and we make our way down the stairs.

We make it to the basement area with our guns still raised, Aaron is behind David checking doors, I'm behind Spencer and Emily is behind me checking doors as well. Me, Spencer and Emily get to a set of stairs where we see dead agents in the elevator.

"Liz, Prentiss." He said to us indicating the bloody shoe prints

We all come up on the ambulance driver who is sitting on the ground leaning against the gate.

"FBI." Rossi said and the guy moved a knife to his neck.

"Put it down. It's over." Aaron said but the man took the knife and slit his throat, we walk over to his body, Rossi walks away followed by Emily and Spencer then me, I look back and see Aaron still standing there, he picks up the guys gun then walks away, I smile at him and he wraps his arm around my shoulder.

I was walking over to Aaron, since he cant fly for awhile he has to be driven, "Got it." I said grabbing his bag, "I'm your ride."

"I thought agent davis was driving me." He said to me

"She was. I had her reassigned." I told him

He smiled, "Don't you have something better to do?" He asked

"Than to annoy you for 3 hours? Hell, no." I said lightly bumping into him, "It'll be just like it was when you dropped me off at college." I said and he rolled his eyes.

"Give me the keys." He said to me

"Not a chance, big brother. Let's go." I said and we started walking, "So did we ever find out who the secret service had in the hospital?" I asked

"Does it matter?"

"No, I guess it doesn't." I said

"Listen Elizabeth, I'm sorry if I scared you, but I want you to know that I'm glad it was me and not you."

"Aaron-" I started to say.

"No listen." He said stopping in front of me, "I may never have been around as much when I left you and Sean to go to boarding school, and for that I'm sorry, but your my little sister, I love you and I'm here now. I'm not going anywhere." He said and I hugged him.

"Good, because you may be older but I can still take you." I said and he laughed.

"Whatever you say Troublebeth." He said and I punched him in the arm lightly.

"Will you ever stop calling me that?" I asked.

"Never."

"Eh that's okay, you have a 3 hour road trip with me and I have many ways of giving you payback." I said

"Oh god." He said and we reached the SUV and got inside, once we got buckled I started the car, "Can I ask you something?" He asked.

"Anything."

"Is there something going on with you and Reid?" He asked and I looked at him then back forward.

"This is gonna be a long drive." I sighed and put the car in drive.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Tell us about the 9-1-1 call." Spencer said from the back seat of the car we were riding in with Nancy Lunde.

"I believe the he that they referred to is the church's leader, Benjamin Cyrus."

"Benjamin Cyrus- no criminal record. No record at all, really. What else do you know about him?" Spencer asked her.

"It's rumored that he's practicing polygamy and forced marriages." Nancy said

"Any idea who the caller is?" I asked, although I was a little distracted by Spence, he had his hair slicked back and was leaning a little close to me from the back so his breath tickled my neck. I still haven't told him how I felt but after Aaron said that if nothing got in the way of work he didn't have a problem with it. I just still can't tell him.

"Uh, Jessica Evanson is the one who the age fits, but... We can't be sure. So I negotiated interviews with all the children. It wasn't easy."

"Well, considering their view on outsiders, It would be best if you didn't identify us as FBI just use our real names, and introduce us as child victim interview experts." I said and we reached the compound.

"I'm looking for Mr.. Benjamin Cyrus." Nancy said as we got out of the car.

"You found him."

"I'm Nancy Lunde. We spoke on the phone regarding the allegation." Nancy said

"Savages, they call us. 'Cause our manners differ from theirs." Cyrus said

"We didn't come here to hear you cite scripture, Mr.. Cyrus."

"Actually, it's Benjamin Franklin." Spencer said

"Elizabeth Hotchner, Spencer Reid. They're child victim interview experts."

"How far from god's word must we have strayed for there to be the need to invent a job called child victim interview expert?" Cyrus asked

"We wish we didn't have to be here." I said

"So do we. But you are welcome, nonetheless. The children are in the school as I indicated."

"Thank you." I said and we walked past him.

"You're using solar power?" Spencer I heard Spencer ask him

"We go to school. We do our chores. And we treat ourselves and each other with the respect god demands." Jessica said as I sat in front of her with Spence behind me.

"But you've never been off of the ranch?" I asked her

"I brought Jessie here when she was 2." Her mother said, 2?

"You've talked to lots of children in your work. Tell me their lives somehow better than ours?" Jessica asked

"We devote ourselves to god. That doesn't mean we're not devoted to our children." her mother said

"We are not here because of your religious beliefs." I said to them

"Why are you here?" Jessica asked

"We received a phone call alleging that an adult male member of your church was having inappropriate relations with the younger women here." I tell her

"You're talking about Cyrus." Jessica said

"What makes you say that?" I asked

"Jessie, come on." Her mother said but she ignored her

"Is it inappropriate for a husband to share a bed with his wife?" Jessica asked

"You are married to Cyrus?"

"Yes. Cyrus is my husband and a prophet. It's an honor to bare his children." She said

"Jessica, you're 15 years old. The state of Colorado requires parental consent." Spencer said and I looked at her mom.

"She gave consent."

Just then one of the male members walks in with some men holding there guns, "Get up! Get up!" The guy said and I stood up feeling Spencer put his hand on my arm but was moved away as the one guy searched us for weapons.

"You heard him! Stand!"

"What's going on?" Nancy asked them

"We just got a very strange phone call from a news reporter. Is there anything you want to tell me? About a raid maybe?" Cyrus asked and looked at us, we were just as shocked as he was, "They don't know."

They ushered us along with everyone else into a tunnel, Spencer was behind me and Nancy was behind him.

"What's going on?" Nancy asked

"I don't know. Just stay calm." Spencer said

"All right, move quietly. Quickly go to the left." Cyrus said and we enter into what looks like a bunker, I move to stand by Spencer, "Everybody stay together. Children listen to your parents. All right, everyone. Down to this end. Have faith."

"Where'd all these guns come from?" I asked looking at the rifles leaning against the wall.

"I don't know. Garcia checked with the state police." Spence said

"Stay together. Remain calm. Everyone remain calm. There is nothing to fear here." Cyrus said to the people

"This is ridiculous." Nancy said to us

"It's OK. Just calm down." I tell her and I see Cyrus talking to the main gun guy.

"All right. Remain calm. Stay quiet. God will protect you." Cyrus said and left.

"It's the state police. I'm an officer of the state." Nancy said to us

"Well, there's nothing we can do right now." I said

"I can talk to him."

"No, you can't. It's dangerous." I said but she didn't listen and heading back into the tunnels, "Nancy, stop! Nancy!" I said trying to go after her and Spencer was trying to pull me back, we get to the front and a man holding a gun stopped us but Nancy made it through.

"Do not fear. We are on the side of the righteous." Cyrus said coming back into the bunker.

"Where's lunde?" I asked

"It wasn't us." He said to me

"What? You can't shoot it out with the cops! You have children here." I said to him

"I didn't start this." He said and turned to the other gunman, "I'll take the roof. You take the tunnel."

 **Aaron POV...**

I was on the none when I hear Morgan yell my name, I hung up and walked out the door.

"The TV. Elizabeth and Reid." He said and I looked at the TV.

No one knows for sure how many people are inside. It is believed at least 3 of the child service members are still trapped within the compound.

 _Oh no._ I thought just then everyone's phones and pagers went off, "All right that means we're the lead with hostage rescue and support. Let's go." I said and headed down the stairs.

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I stood there in front of Spencer and I was chewing on my nail when I heard one guy talking to Cyrus as they came back.

"Miles is dead. He was locking the door when they shot him. Lauren and Robert were asleep in their bed. The bullets came through the wall."

"What about the baby?" Cyrus asked

"I have her. She was at the school." Jessica said coming in with a little girl.

"Hello, darling." Cyrus said walking up to the little girl, "It's all gonna be all right, honey. Mommy and daddy have gone to god. Ok? It's all gonna be all right." He looked at Jessica, "Take her to the temple and pray." Jessica left, "Distribute weapons and ammo. I prayed this day would never come. But it has. God will see us through."

 **Aaron POV...**

"Dave, they've left the choice of negotiators up to me." I tell him as we get to the setup command center.

"I taught most of the hostage negotiation unit. You want a recommendation?" He asked

"I'm making you the lead negotiator." I said

"Me?"

"Why go to the students when I have the teacher?" I asked

"Because the teacher is emotionally involved. So is the agent in command."

"I know I am and believe me I want Elizabeth out of there safely as well as Reid. This is a unique situation. We have 2 agents who could affect the outcome on the inside." I said

"True. But I can't be objective! I know them too well."

"This outcome depends as much on our ability to predict the moves of Elizabeth and Reid as Cyrus. That's why you're the best man for the job." I tell him

"Assuming that Reid and Elizabeth are still in a condition to make moves. I know how bad this is."

"That's why I want you doing the talking." I told him

"All right."

 **Elizabeth POV...**

We got moved to the chapel, I was sitting next to Reid when there was a knock at the door.

"Dave? I'm Ben. Come on in." Cyrus said and I turned my head to look at Rossi, "The children. And our guests."

"I'd hoped you'd let me take the children." Rossi said to him

"Nah, their our protection. I remember Waco. We all do." Cyrus told him

"This isn't Waco."

"They stay for now... While I pray for god's guidance. Please don't try to force us out." Cyrus said to him

"No one's gonna try to force you out of here. Trust me." Rossi said

"Trust is earned." Cyrus said

"It is."

"Tell them I'm not crazy. Tell them I'm just a man living by god's law." Cyrus said to him

"I will." Rossi said and held out his hand, Cyrus shook it then Rossi left.

"Prepare the wine." Cyrus said, me and Spencer managed to move behind everyone and stood there watching two men pour wine into everyone's cup, "We are celebrating. Everyone drinks. Everyone rejoices. Because today we are one day closer to being with him."

"Look at jessica's body language. The way she looks at him." I told Spencer

"She literally worships him. There's no way she made that 9-1-1 call."

"Trust in god with all your heart. Lean not on your own understandings. Trust in mine." Cyrus continued and I see Jessica's mother stand up and walk over to her daughter.

"Look how she comes between Cyrus and her daughter. She's inserted herself between them." I said

"Acknowledge him in all things, and he will guide your way. Drink to acknowledge him. And I will guide our way. We will be with him soon. We have drank the poison together." Cyrus said and I blanched looking at Reid, "Mothers... Fathers... Children, though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we fear no evil. For thou are with us. And god will wipe the tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death nor sorrow nor crying. And there will be no more pain. For all of the former things have passed away."

"What do we do?" I asked Spencer

"Nothing."

"We have to do something. These people just took poison."

"Cyrus just told them he did. I think he's just bluffing." SPencer said

"Why do you think that?" I asked

"Just after he told them about the poison, he waited for them to start to react. Then he nodded to Cole. And he started writing. Look." He said and I saw the guy writing things down, "They're scanning the audience looking for reactions."

"They're writing down the names of the people who are crying."

"It's a loyalty list." He said

"So he knows who will follow him to the end." I pointed out

"Be still. There was no poison." Cyrus said, "Instead a test of faith. Because your adversary, the devil, waltzes about as a roaring lion! Choosing whom he may devour. Watch each other for signs of weakness. You are your brother's keeper."

Later me and Spencer are sitting by ourselves in the room we were in before the tunnels when Cyrus walked in.

"Which one of you is it? Which one of you is the F. B. ?" Cyrus asked and I looked at Spencer.

"Why do you think one of us is an F. B. I. Agent?" Spencer asked him

"God will forgive me for what I must do." Cyrus said and pointed a gun at Spencer, making my heart jump.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"One of you does. Who is it?" Cyrus asked.

"Me." I said and Cyrus and Spencer looked at me, "It's me."

Cyrus put his gun away, walked over to me and grabbed my hair dragging me away, I saw Spencer try to stand up but I shook my head. I was brought into a storage room.

"I told you not to put me in this position!" Cyrus said and smacked me across the face making me fall backwards.

 **Aaron POV...**

I hear Elizabeth grunt as Cyrus hit her, "We gotta go in there." I said taking my headphones off.

"We'd be risking the lives everyone in there." David said to me.

 _"Get up! Proverbs 20:30 tells us blows and wounds cleanse away evil." Cyrus said_

 _"I can take it."_ Elizabeth tells him

 _"Oh, you can take it?"_ Cyrus asked and I heard her grunt again, What are you doing Elizabeth? I thought to myself.

"Wait-wait. Listen to what she's saying."

 _"I can take it."_

"She's antagonizing him." Morgan said

"She's not talking to him." Rossi said

"She's talking to us. She's telling us not to come in." I said hanging my head

 _"Pride comes before the fall."_ I hear Cyrus hit her again, _"Tie her up. Put her upstairs."_

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I hurt everywhere, Jessica's mother comes into the room to clean my face, she sits down on the side of the bed and puts a rag to my face.

"You should have told Cyrus who you were. He's a prophet. He predicted satan's armies would come and lay siege to us." She said

"There's a name for that kind of prophecy-self fulfilling." I said to her

"You don't know how dangerous it is to lie to him."

"I know it would take a brave woman to defy him, knowing the consequences. And that that woman would have to have a damn good reason to do it." I said and She left.

 _I'm sorry Aaron._

 **Spencer POV...**

I listened as Cyrus beat Elizabeth, my heart hurt hearing it, why did she have to do that?I continued to stand there when Cryus came back in sitting down to clean his hand, "Did you know she was FBI?" he asked me.

"Nancy told me the woman was a child abuse interview expert from Denver. In 4 years I worked with her, Nancy never lied to me before." I said

"As far as you know. Their law says that a 15-year-old girl is a child. 50 years ago that same law said a 14 year old was an adult. Have children changed so much in 50 years?" Cyrus asked me standing up.

"I can't tell you the number of times I've investigated abuse charges against small religious groups. Almost all of them turn out to be false." I said to

"What do you think of that?" He asked

"Doesn't really matter what I think."

"It does to me." He said

"Why?"

"Because god wants to save you. I mean, that's why he sent you here. That's the reason." Cyrus said

"On the next call, you should test them. Test the negotiator. Make him prove that he isn't a liar." I told him

"How would you suggest I do that?"

"Ask for the identity of the FBI agent." I told him,

"No. We already know her identity." Cole said

"They don't know that." Cyrus said

"Yeah. But the FBI would never tell us." Cole said

"They keep on asking you to release people. Tell him you'll release a kid, and you won't harm the agent. And if they really care about the children, they'll have to tell you." I said

"You're trying to get us to release a child." Cole told me

"It's one kid. If they don't hold up on their end of the deal, you know they can't be trusted."

"He has a point." Cyrus said, "What is it, Christopher?"

"Some have been talking about...Leaving."

"Leaving?" Cryus asked

"Yeah."

"Wake the baby. Let's let them meet the orphan that they've made." Cyrus said

We waited until his phone rang and he answered it, "I will release a child if you tell me the identity of the FBI agent. I promise no harm will come to them from this point forward." There was a pause, "I will send the child now." I see him look out of the chapel then walk back towards me, "Trust is earned." he said, "There's a good chance we can work this out, Dave. I'm gonna provide another sign of good faith." Cyrus said looking at me then hung up the phone.

"Assemble everyone in the chapel. Get Agent Hotchner down here." Cyrus told Christopher and we all gathered in the chapel.

"It has come to my attention that some of our brothers and sisters have lost their faith in god. That they no longer love us. They want to abandon us. So when I call out your name, please stand." Cyrus said and held up a piece if paper, "Todd sutters. Melanie sutters..." He reads names off and I see Elizabeth being brought in and my heart broke looking at her face, I walked over to her stilling looking at her, even with a bruised face she was still beautiful.

"He looks pissed." She said to me and looked at me, "It's not as bad as it looks."

"I'm so sorry." I said

"Don't be." she said and smiled, "Look at who he's releasing." she said and I looked around.

"Wyatt rayborn."

"It's the ones who failed the loyalty test." I said

"Doris beasley."

"We'll get word to the team. Wait for a sign from outside to indicate what time the raid will come." I said to her

"Willis farwell."

I walked over to Cyrus, "I told her she shouldn't have lied to you like that." I said to him

"To either of us. Take her back." Cyrus said and one of his men grabbed Elizabeth and took her away, "Those of you that are standing, please collect your belongings and report to the front hallway immediately."

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I was laying on the bed in the room I was in before with my hands tied behind my back. I lifted my foot to the blinds to get someone's attention.

"If you can hear me, I know you're coming. I can try to get the women and children down to the tunnel, But I need to know when you're coming." I said and waited a few more minutes, "I can try to get the women and children down to the tunnel, But I need to know when you're coming. If you can hear me, I know you're coming. I can-" suddenly I saw a red dot on the wall, "- . I got you. What time? What time?" the dot blinked three times, "3:00 A. M.?" it moved up and down indicating yes, "Understood. Reid is on the first floor somewhere with Cyrus. And please remember there are children here." Just then I hear a noise outside my door, "Someone's coming." I said and put my foot down.

 **Spencer's POV...**

I looked down into the box and saw a message on a container, 3AM.

Just then Cyrus tosses an empty box on top of it and looked at me, "I know what you're thinking. You don't have to be a part of this. You can go." He said

"I think I'd prefer to stay. Somebody needs to tell your story." I told him, also I needed to make sure Elizabeth got out.

"And I'm glad it'll be you. Now that the false believers have been cleared from our midst, we make our final preparations." Cyrus said.

 **Elizabeth POV...**

Jessica's mother enters the room with a glass of water, I sit up as she walks over with a chair sitting down and helping me take a drink, "Cyrus is planning a mass suicide." I told her, "You made the 9-1-1 call."

"This is all my fault. None of this would have happened if I hadn't of made that call." She said

"You were trying to protect your daughter." I told her

"There were other girls before Jessie. He-he would marry them in secret. And after a while, he'd take another. And we weren't permitted to speak of it. And so when she asked for my consent, I wanted to just take her and run. But I was afraid she wouldn't leave him." She said

"You wanted us to take her?" I asked

"Well, I-I wanted to save her from Cyrus."

"I can give you another chance. The FBI is coming here at 3:00 A. M. I need you to gather Jessica, the kids, the other women-" I said and she shook her head standing up, "Get them into the basement just before 3:00 A. M."

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked

"Because I have faith that you are a strong enough woman to do the right thing for Jessica." I said and she left.

A few moments later she came back into the room, "You were right. They're setting the place to blow up. I told Jessie that Cyrus wanted her gather the women and children." She said to me untying my hands.

"Where is the man I came in with?" I asked her

"He's in the chapel with Cyrus. It's 2:45 though. We gotta hurry." She said grabbing my hand and we ran out of the room.

I stood at the end of the hallway and signaled everyone to come forward once I knew it was safe.

I walked first into the tunnel entrance and saw Morgan and Rossi, "Elizabeth. Are you okay?" Morgan said.

"They've wired explosives" I said

"Everybody come on. Let's go this way." Jessica's mother said to everyone, "Let's go kids. Ok. This building's gonna blow up."

"Where's Reid?" Morgan asked

"He's in the chapel with Cyrus." I said to him

"We gotta get you out of here." Rossi said and I shook my head.

"No. We've gotta get Reid!" I said

"Elizabeth, I will get reid. Get out of here. Get to Hotch. Get to safety. Go now." Morgan said and Rossi grabbed my arm trying to get me to leave.

"Cyrus didn't call for this. You lied to me!" Jessica said to her mother

"No, Cyrus lied to you, honey." She said to her daughter

"He can't-he's my husband." Jessica said and headed back inside.

"No!" her mother yelled but Morgan stopped her as she tried to go after her daughter.

"I will get her for you. Rossi, get her out of here." Morgan said.

As we exited the building it blows up, I turn and look at where the chapel used to be.

"Spencer!" I yelled, "Morgan" _Come on._ I thought to myself as I continued looking for them. Just then I saw Spencer and Morgan stand up, I put my hands over my mouth and let the tears fall. I walked up the steps and Spencer saw me, I wrapped my arms around him in a hug which he returned. Thank you. I looked at Spencer one more time before I heard someone yell my name.

"Elizabeth!" I turned and saw Aaron coming towards me, I let go of Spencer and ran into my brothers arms.

I pulled away when I saw Jessica's mother looking at the building, hoping to see her daughter. My heart broke for her, I walked up to her, I opened my mouth to talk but nothing came out.

Later on the jet I walked out of the back and saw Spencer sitting there reading a book, I sat down in front of him, "Hey"

He gave a quiet hey and looked back at his book, I moved his hands down forcing him to look at me, "I need you to listen to me. What Cyrus did to me is not your fault. It was my decision, and I would do it again. Do you hear me?" I asked and he gave a half smile and looked down. "Thank you." I said still holding his hand, I didn't want to let go, I thought I was never going to see him again. A part of me wanted to tell him, screamed at me to tell him, I just...I can't.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Beauty and the Geek**

After wrapping up pur case in Vegas involving a missing child, me, Morgan, Emily, and Rossi were waiting in the lobby of the hotel.

"Come on, baby. Give it to me. Give it to me. See? Nuh-uh." Morgan said to a slot machine

"Morgan, can you-" Emily said, we went drinking last night so she was a little hungover, I however didnt have as much as her, "Please, can you- My head."

"My bad. Sorry. You know these things are rigged, right?" Morgan said

"Late night?" Rossi asked

"I hate vegas." Emily said and I rubbed her shoulder.

"You didn't seem to hate last night when we took those shots." I said and she glared at me.

"Come on, prentiss. How can you hate vegas? This is a grown folk's playground." Morgan told her.

"Anyone seen Reid?" JJ asked walking up to us.

"I know he stayed with his mom last night." I said

"Well, he should be here by now. He knows the departure time. That thing still has credit on it." JJ said reaching over to the machine Morgan was on

"J. J., I swear to god-" Emily said

"What?" JJ asked looking at all of us and Rossi motioned that she was hungover.

"Oh, here he comes right now." Morgan said and we see Spencer run over to us, "What'd you do? Sleep through your alarm?"

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting. I-" Reid said

"Hotch is already at the airstrip. How fast can you pack?" JJ asked him

"Actually, I'm gonna stay for a couple of days." Spencer said

"Is everything all right?" Rossi asked

"Yeah, I just, um- I haven't seen my mom for a really long time, so I'd like a few more days." Spencer said, me and Morgan shared a look.

"You sure?" Rossi asked him

"Yeah."

"Ok, take a few days. Do what you need to do." Rossi said and walked past him, then Morgan, Emily, then me, I put my hand on his arm as I walked by and gave it a light squeeze then met the others outside.

"Guys I think I'm gonna hang around too, I have a feeling Spencer is up to something and I just-" I started to say but Morgan cut me off.

"I was thinking the same thing. What do you say Rossi? Me and Elizabeth hang back and keep an eye on the kid?"

"I think that would be a good idea." Rossi said and him, Emily and JJ left.

Later on we managed to get a key to Spencer's room, me and Morgan were sitting in seperate chairs eating snacks and watching TV.

* * *

"What are you guys doing here?" Spencer asked walking into his room carrying a file box.

"Hey, what's it look like we're doing?" Morgan said

"Uh, breaking into my room and watching days of our lives."

"Young and the restless." I said and muted the TV

"Aren't you supposed to be on a plane back to D.C?" Spencer asked

"You're supposed to be hanging out with your mom." I said

"And you're not." Morgan said and gestured to the box "Riley Jenkins?"

"No, it's not- that's actually not why I'm here." Spencer said

"Reid? Come on, man. Who do you think you're talking to? I know what this has been doing to you. Let us help." Morgan said standing up and I followed.

"Maybe together we can find out who killed him." I said

"I think I might already know." Spence said

"So, tell us about the suspect." Morgan said

"Truth is, I don't know anything about him. He's my father." Spencer said and I looked at him then at Morgan.

* * *

Reid starts setting files down on his bed, "Before we go down this road, you need to be sure." I said to him

"She's right. Some rocks don't need looking under." Morgan toldhim

"My mind is sending me signals. I can't ignore them anymore."

"Mixed signals. That's what the subconscious is all about, you know that." I told him

"Reid, your dad left you. You take it to the freudian extreme, you could say that he killed your childhood. Could explain a dream in which you see him as a murderer." Morgan pointed out.

"I've come this far, I'm not going back."

"Riley was 6 at the time. His father, Lou Jenkins, was supposed to pick him up from t-ball practice at 4. But he got delayed at work, prompting Riley to walk the 3 blocks home. When his mother got home in the early evening, she found him dead in the basement." Spencer said to us and I was looking at a file while sitting in a chair across from him while Morgan paced looking at another file.

So, the offender came to the house after the boy arrived home." I said

"Or picked him up on the way there." Spencer said

"Coaxes Riley into the basement where he sexually assaults him." Morgan said

"The boy's mouth was taped shut." I pointed out

"Symbolic. The unsub fears Riley will talk, panics, weighs his options..." Spencer said

"Decides to make certain that he'll never talk." Morgan said

"He finds a knife in the fishing gear under the stairs, Stabs Riley 9 times in the chest, stuffs him behind the washing machine." I said closing the file and setting it down, I hate cases involving kids.

"So, the unsub's a white male in his late 20s to early 30s."

"Means we're looking for a man in his 50s." I said

"Likely knew the boy. Maybe been to his house." Morgan said

"Neighbor." I said

"Reid? What is it?" Morgan asked

"My family lived less than a half mile from the Jenkins'." Spencer said

"Do you think your dad knew the boy?" I asked him

"I don't know. My memory's lack of recall just reinforces how little I knew about him."

"Reid, we're going to have to track him down. You do know that?" Morgan asked him

"We should talk to my mother first, neighbors. Get their impressions." Spencer said

"Reid, I don't need to tell you that this signature was need-based and sexual in nature. The man we're looking for is a pedophile. So, I'll ask you again. Are you sure you want to go down this road?" I asked him.

* * *

I went with Spencer to speak with his mom, when we arrived she was sitting down playing scrabble.

"Mom, can I ask you some questions about dad? I'm having... Having trouble remembering." Spencer said sitting across from him and I was sitting next to him.

"What do you want to know?" She asked him

"Did he like to be around children?"

"Children? Well, yes. If it were up to him, you'd have a house full of brothers and sisters." She told him

"So, you didn't want more kids?" Spencer asked her

"Why mess with perfection?" She said smiling at him, me and Spencer smiled as well.

"Um, what about other people's children? How was he around them?" Spencer asked.

"He was good with kids, I guess. He coached your little league team. He was always trying to put you into normal activities." She said. "I tried to tell him you're not normal. You were exceptional."

"Let me ask you this, mom. Did you ever get the feeling, like, on his part, the marriage was... Just for show?" Spencer asked

"These questions are very strange, Spencer. What is this about?" She asked him.

"It's about Riley Jenkins." Spencer said

"Riley Jenkins? I told you, he was someone you made up." His mom said

"No, he's not someone I made up. He was a real boy who lived in our neighborhood, and somebody killed him. And, I don't know, I think- I think that dad might have had something to do with it." Spencer said

"He was real?" She asked.

"Yes. And... He was on that little league team, too."

* * *

"Can I help you?" The receptionist asked as we walked into the waiting room for Spencer;s dad;s office.

"Yeah-" Spencer said but started to act nervous, I put my hand on his back.

"We'd like to speak with William Reid." I said to her

"Is he expecting you?" She asked

"I don't think so." I said and showed her my badge.

"He's in a meeting right now. Why don't you have a seat and I'll tell him you're here." She said and Morgan looked at Spencer.

"You ok?"

"Yeah. No-yeah-i'm going to go to the bathroom." Spencer said and walked away.

"I've never seen him like this before." Morgan said to me.

"17 years is a long time to go between visits." I said

"Not long enough. The kid's still angry."

"Yeah, I'm starting to get that." I said and someone walked out of the office room.

"I'll be right back. Here you go. You from the FBI?" A man said who I assumed was Spencer's dad.

Yes, sir. Mr. Reid, I'm Agent Elizabeth Hotchner." I said his is agent Morgan." I said to him

"This wouldn't be about the city council investigation, would it?"

"No, this is, uh, more of a personal matter." I said

"It concerns your son." Morgan told him

"My son? Did something happen?"

"That's what we're trying to find out." Spencer said walking back over to us, "Hello, dad."

"You don't look like me anymore." His dad said while we were in his office, "You used to. Everybody said so."

"They say some people look like their dogs, too. It's attributed to prolonged mutual exposure. Elderly couples, also. They unconsciously mimic the expressions of people they've been around their whole life. So, it kind of- kind of makes sense that I wouldn't really look like you. I haven't seen you in 20 years." Spencer said, I was sitting on the couch across from his dad and looked up at him then back at Morgan.

"So, are you in town on work?" His dad asked.

"We're just wrapping up a case." I said to him

"A 5-year-old boy was abducted and murdered." Morgan said to him.

"I read about that. Uh, Ethan Hayes, right? That's terrible." his dad said

"That case got me thinking about Riley Jenkins." Spencer said, "You remember Riley Jenkins?"

"Of course."

"I've been having dreams about him for a really long time. But when we came back here for this case, it jogged something and the dream changed. I saw his killer and he was you." Spencer said

"Interesting dream."

"You don't seem all that surprised." Morgan said

"I stopped being surprised by Spencer's mind a long time ago. There are certain criteria we consider when looking at this type of suspect. You fit parts of that profile." I said to him.

"Me?"

"We just want your cooperation." I said

"My cooperat...You're not actually saying you think I killed Riley Jenkins?"

"We didn't say that." Spencer said

"Good, 'cause that's absurd." His dad said

"We'd just like permission to look through your computer, access your records." Morgan said

"And what would you be looking for exactly? You want access to my files? Get a warrant." His dad said.

* * *

A while later Spencer came walking up to us and handed me a folder, "Was the envelope dropped off at the front desk first?" I asked him

"Nope, it went straight to my room." Spencer said

"So, they knew what room you were in." I said

"I do have to admit, the timing of this is a little suspicious." Morgan said

"Yeah. An hour after I see my father, we're handed another suspect." Spencer said

"You think you knew this guy?" I asked

"I don't know. I think so, but I'm not sure. I-i-no, I don't know." Spencer said

"Exposed himself to a minor. That's a precursor to molestation." I said

"And murder. We should take a closer look at this guy." Morgan said and his phone rang, "It's Garcia." He said and answered it, "Yeah, talk to me, baby girl."

 _"I'm not interrupting boy time at crazy horse 2, am i?"_ She asked him

"You know that's not my thing. I'm more for in-room entertainment." Morgan said

 _"I can't help you but I do give good phone."_ Garcia said and I hung my head and shook it, These two.

"Let me hear what you got."

 _"Reid, we've been all up in your father's business."_

"What did you find?"

 _"Well, let me tell you first what I did not find. No kiddie porn, no membership to illicit websites, no dubious emails, no chat room history."_

"What about his finances?" Spencer asked.

 _"We went back 10 years. No questionable transactions that we can find."_ I hear Aaron say.

 _"Well, he did buy a ticket to see celine dion 6 months ago. But I think we can overlook that."_ Emily said

"He's smart. Is it possible he kept things under the table?" Spencer asked

 _"Well, of course. But from what we can tell, Reid, he doesn't fit the profile."_ Aaron said

 _"We can tell you other things about him, if you want to know."_ Emily told him

"I'm listening."

 _"He's a workaholic, he actually logs more hours than we do. He makes decent money, but he doesn't spend a lot of it. He has a modest house. He drives a hybrid. He doesn't travel much. He stays away from the casinos. Um, and according to his veterinary bills, he has a very sick cat."_ Emily continued.

 _"He appears to spend most of his free time alone, he goes to the movies a lot, and he reads. And from his collection of first editions, it seems his favorite author is-"_

"Isaac Asimov, I remember that one." Spencer said cutting Aaron off

 _"He does have one other major interest. On his home computer, he's archived, like, a ka-jillion things on one common subject."_ Garcia said

"What?"

 _"You, kiddo. He's got, like, everything that's been published online. Every article you've been quoted in, pieces you've written for behavioral science journals, He even has a copy of your dissertation."_ Garcia said

"He's keeping tabs on you. That's saying something." I said

"Yeah, he googled me. That makes up for everything. I'm going to get some air." Spencer said and walked away.

"You guys still there?" Morgan asked

 _"I thought we were giving him good news."_ Garcia said

 _"What else can we do?"_ Aaron asked

"Yeah, look up a name for us, if you would. Gary Brendan Michaels." Morgan said

 _"You like this gary guy for the Riley murder?"_ Emily asked

"Somebody does." I said

* * *

Me and Morgan start looking around for Spencer, we see him sitting at a card machine next to another woman.

"I'll tell you what, I'll put mine out if you buy me a drink." The woman said and we walked up to them.

"Uh, not today, sweetheart." I said

"We've been looking all over the place for you. Come on." Morgan said and Spencer got up and we moved away.

"Hey, you won, like, $2,000 here." The woman said

"Keep it." Spencer told her

"You do realize you just gave two grand to a hooker?" I said

"Must have been quite a conversation. What was it about?" Morgan asked

"How to stop smoking." Spencer said

"Thank you for seeing us on such short notice." Spencer said while me and him sat in a hypnotists office.

"Well, I'm always happy to assist the FBI." She said, "Is there a witness you want me to look at?"

"Uh, yeah. Me. I'm trying to recover memories from my childhood. There was a murder." Spencer told her

"How long ago are we talking about?" She asked

"I was 4."

"Memories from that age can be difficult to interpret." she told him

"I'm aware of the limitations of hypnotherapy."

"Well, then you're aware of suggestion issues. If you've looked into this case, you may have a bias." She said

"Are you saying what he remembers under hypnosis may not be real?" I asked

"It's a possibility. Either way, it's a tough sell in court." She said

"We won't be using this for evidentiary purposes. It's really just for me. The suppressed memories are about my father." Spencer said

"I'd like to monitor this session. Make sure you get him to the right place." I said

"You want to sit in? I don't normally allow that." She told me

"In case you haven't realized, nothing about this is normal." I told her

* * *

Later Spencer is laying in the couch and the hypnotist is sitting in a chair next to him, I'm sitting in a chair away from them, "I want you to hold my wrist in your left hand. And if you should feel any fear, I want you to squeeze, do you understand?" She asked him

"Yes."

"Go back to the night you were just telling me about. You're at home, in your room. You can't sleep because your parents are arguing."

"He's coming in."

"Who is?" She asked.

"It's dad."

"What about him, Spencer?" she asked him, "What is he doing?"

"I don't want to be here." Spencer said

"Ok. It's ok, Spencer. Take us to where the light is. To the next morning. The sun is coming up. Where are you, spencer?"

"Mom? My mom. She's at the window. She's thinking. She's been crying. She saw him."Spencer said.

"Who? Your father? Do you talk to her?"

"No. No, I wanna- I wanna see..." Spencer said

"What is it, Spencer? What are you seeing?"

"That's enough." I said

"I need you to leave this location now, Spencer." The lady said

"Damn it. Wake him up." I said moving behind the arm rest where Spencer's head was at.

"I'm going to count backward from 5. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and wake." The lady said and Spencer snapped out of it and I put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"Spencer. It's ok. It's ok. It's ok. It's ok, Spence. It's ok." I said calming him down and he grabbed my hand and looked at me, "What happened? What did you see?" I asked him.

* * *

We went back to the facility where his mom was at, "Try to remember, mom." Spencer said to her.

"No, I can't."

"You were there. You watched dad burn the bloody clothes." Spencer told her

"You had a dream."

"Mom, this was not a dream. This was a memory. It was a memory and I saw you." He told her

"Your mind, ah, such a treasure. Even as a baby you knew about things you weren't supposed to know." She told him

"This is not about me. This is about Riley Jenkins."

"It was always about you." She said and he moved her over to the bed.

"Please, mom. Please. Please, just try to rember. Remember Riley."

"Riley? Riley was real. Oh, poor riley." His mom said.

"Yes, poor riley. Poor riley. Did dad do something to him?" Spencer asked.

"Dad? No."

"Think. Think. Think" Spencer said.

"No, no. That's-no, no. Now you're confusing me, Spencer." She said

"You knew. You knew about dad, and you didn't do anything." Spencer told her.

"Spence-" I said

"No! You don't know. No! No! You don't know! You don't- no! No!" She started yelling, stood up and started smacking her head, "No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no!"

A couple nurses came in and moved Spencer aside, I walked over to him and put my hand on his arm, he looked like he wanted to crying, I took my other hand and put it ion his back.

"I'm just going to give you something to relax." The female nurse said.

"It could have been you." His mom said and Spencer moved over to her.

"What? What did you say?"

"It could have been you." She said.

* * *

"You still think he did it don't you?" Morgan asked Spencer as we look at his dad through an observation window.

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Well, for one thing, gary michaels fits the profile. For another, he fled town after riley's murder. He's a better suspect than your dad, Reid." Morgan said

"He's a convenient one. Someone slipped the file under my door, Morgan. What am I supposed to think?" Spencer asked

"Maybe they're trying to help." I said

"Maybe they're trying to protect him." Spencer says

"You're talking about someone helping to cover up the murder of a child. Who would do that?" I asked

"Do you remember how resistant detective hyde was when I asked him to bring in my father?" Spencer asked Morgan

"So, what? You're accusing a cop now?" Morgan counter asked.

"It was a police file." Spencer said

"It was a very old police file. Anybody could have accessed it." Morgan said

"He told me to go back to the fountain view, have a drink by the pool, and think about things." Spencer said

"You can't possibly still be mad about that."

"I'm not mad. I'm confused. I never told him we were staying at the fountain view." Spencer said raising a good point.

"It's a simple question. How did the blood get on the clothes?" Spencer asked his dad.

"I told you, I'm not going to talk without council."

"If you don't have anything to hide, you don't need a lawyer." Spencer said

"Spencer, please. I'm not stupid. I'm proud of you, you know that?"

"I'm not stupid either." Spencer said

"No. You've done a lot of good. I mean, other people with your talents, they might have sought different opportunities. The private sector. My god, you could have made a fortune. But you chose to help people." His dad said

"I chose to study murders."

"Why do you think that is?" Spencer asked.

"I didn't do this, Spencer. Why can't you believe me?"

"Like you said, I do have special talents. One of them is being able to tell when somebody is hiding something." Spencer told him

"You're angry that I left. And you're right to be."

"You want to make it up to me? Tell me the truth." Spencer told him

"I didn't kill that boy. But I know who did." His dad said and I looked at Morgan.

"Gary michaels?" Spencer asked.

"How'd you know that?"

"That was the whole idea, wasn't it? So, where is gary michaels now, dad?" Spencer asked

"Spencer, please. Forget it. You don't want to go down this road." His dad said, suddenly my phone rang, it was Aaron, JJ was in labor.

 _"Everything's fine. We're checking her in now. And I got a thing back from California on your codis query."_

"Did they find gary michaels?" I asked.

 _"Some of him."_

"He's dead?" Spencer asked

"They dug him up 7 years ago when some new construction broke ground in the desert." Morgan told him.

"Whoever killed him was smart enough to bury him across state lines. Vegas P. made the connect." I said

"How was he killed?"

"Judging from the fractures, they think he was beaten with something. A pipe, maybe." Morgan said

"Or a bat." I pointed out

"Bat?" Spencer asked and we see his dad walk out of the interrogation room.

"Maybe it wasn't Riley's blood on those clothes your dad was burning." Morgan said.

"Been rumors a body was buried up at the barker ranch for years. On account of that's where chuck manson had his hideout. When we dug this one up, we went ahead and had him typed. Thought maybe it could be related." One of the sheriffs said to us.

"It's a good thing you did. Might never have I. D.'d him otherwise." Morgan said

"So, why all the fuss over a dead pervert?"

"We think he may have killed a boy in Vegas over 20 years ago." Morgan told him

"Is that how he ended up in the ground? Revenge?"

"Possibly. It says here you have a fingerprint in evidence, lifted from the victim's broken glasses." I said

"We ran it up the flagpole a couple of times. Nothing ever came up."

"That was then. Now we have someone to compare it to." Spencer said

"A suspect? Well, we're going to want to run it through afis, too." Morgan said

"That's a lot of taxpayer dollars being spent to solve a public service murder. If you ask me, the guy got just what he deserved." The sheriff said and left the room.

"He's right, you know. We don't have to run this print." I said

Of course we do. Whatever michaels did, he deserved a fair trial." Spencer said

"Reid, you wanted to know if your father killed Riley. All signs point to "no." you got what you need." Morgan told him

"What I need is the truth."

"If this print belongs to your dad, he could go away for a long time. You're just determined to nail him, aren't you? Doesn't even matter what for." Morgan said

"If you don't want to run it, I will." Spencer told him.

* * *

We were back in the hotel lobby waiting for a match to the finger print, Morgan's phone rang, "Yeah, agent Morgan. You did? You're 100 percent certain? Ok. Thank you." He said and hung up, "We're going to have to get an arrest warrant."

"It was a match?" Spencer asked.

"Yeah. But it wasn't your dad." Morgan said and we headed out.

We pulled up to the construction site, "We got company." Morgan said

"What's he doing here?" Spencer asked and we walked over to the detective

"We notified your captain about this, detective. It's all legit." I told him

"I'm not trying to stop you. I just want to be the one to bring him in. It'll go easier. He's my friend."

"Yeah, we figured that much. You, lou, my father." Spencer said

"You slipped us the michaels file, didn't you?" I asked

"You were after the wrong guy."

"But you knew who the right guy was all along? And what Lou did to him." Morgan said.

"There wasn't any evidence."

"Did you even look?" Spencer asked

"You want to link him up, go ahead. But he rides in with us." Morgan told him

"Appreciate that." The detective said and walked over to Lou.

Back at the station Morgan and Spencer were in with Lou, "Who else was with you?"

"No one." Lou said

"You're saying you killed Gary Michaels by yourself, all alone."

"That's right." Lou said

"And William Reid wasn't a party to this?" Spencer asked

"No."

"You're lying." Spencer said

"I'm not lying."

"He was burning bloody clothes. I saw him." Spencer said

"What makes you think gary michaels killed your boy?" Morgan said

"He admitted it."

"You beat a guy with a baseball bat, he's going to admit to a lot of things. How do you know he was the right guy?" Morgan asked

"I know. He approached another kid in the neighborhood." Lou said.

"And how do you know that?" Morgan asked

"I was told by a concerned party."

"Who? Another parent?" Morgan asked

"That's all I'm going to say on the subject." Lou said

"Who was it?" Spencer asked him

"I told you that's all I'm going to say on the sub-"

"Who was it?" Spencer asked again ignoring him, I moved out to the hall and saw Diana and his dad standing there wih the detective.

"Agent Reid?"

"Do not interfere with this interrogation, detective. This is not your case anymore." Spencer said and his mom walked in.

"Spencer, it was me." She said

* * *

We moved to the detectives office, "I'd seen him around at your ball games, at the park. You used to play chess there, do you remember? You played with him once."

"With gary michaels?" Spencer asked

"I didn't know that was his name back then, But it wasn't unusual for you to play with adults. And you'd win, too." She said

"Did he do something to me?" Spencer asked

"Oh, no. God, no. It never got to that point. But when I saw the way he looked at you, I knew what he was. I could just tell."

"A mother knows." I said and she looked at me.

"Yes."

"So, you told Riley's dad." Spencer said

"Two nights later, Lou called the house. He was agitated. He said he needed me to meet him." Diana said, "I sat there. I couldn't move. It was like a dream. That paralysis in the face of something terrible."

"What happened after that?" I asked.

"It's ok, diana. Go on." William said

"At some point, I found myself walking towards the house." She continued, "And the rest... It's all dark after that."

"You came home." His dad said, "She couldn't talk at first. But eventually I came to understand what had happened. And I knew that nobody could ever know."

"So, you never told anyone?" Spencer asked.

"No, she could have been implicated. And I had to protect her."

"You were burning her bloody clothes." Spencer said

"But the knowing, you can't burn that away. It changes everything."

"Is that why you left?" Spencer asked and I put my hand on his arm.

"I tried to keep us together, Spencer. I swear to you, but the weight of that knowledge, it was too much." HIs dad said

"You could have come back. Could have started over." Spencer said to him, I saw his mom glance at me then look at William.

"I didn't know how to take care of you anymore. When I lost that confidence, there was no going back." His dad said

"What's done is done. At least now you know the truth." His mom said.

"I was wrong about everything. I'm sorry." Spencer said his voice breaking a little.

"I am too, Spencer." His dad said moving to sit next to him.

We get on the jet and head home, I'm sitting in a chair reading one of my books when Spencer sits down in front of me.

"Hey."

"Hi." I said shutting my book, "You okay?"

"I'm better now, thank you."

"No problem." I said and smiled at him.

"Listen Elizabeth, I'm uh..I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what? I asked.

"About what happened when my mom freaked out."

"Spence." I said and leaned forward and grabbed his hands, "You have nothing to be sorry about. You told me everything that happens with your mom, she probably had that episode because she was trying to block it out even though she wanted to tell you. I wasn't scared if that's what you mean though, at least not for myself, I was scared for her when she started hitting her head. She's a good person Spence, she's just...going through a lot, and that is not your fault." I told him and I saw a small smile form on his lips.

"Thank you." He said.

"Anytime." I said still holding his hands. It hurt me so much not telling him how I felt.

We get back to Virginia and arrive at the hospital that JJ is at, we walk into her room and I see her holding her baby boy.

"Is there room for two more in here?" Spencer asked as we walked in.

"Spence, Elizabeth hi."

"Welcome back." Aaron said and pulled me into a side hug, I looked at JJ.

"Oh my goodness he is so adorable." I said.

"Congratulations." Spencer said to Will

"Thank you." He said

"How is it that I just went through 15 hours of labor and you look worse than I do?" JJ asked

"Don't be ridiculous. You look beautiful." Spencer said and I saw give Will a look.

"Well, I could sure use some coffee. Anyone else?" He asked

"Sure." Aaron said

"My treat." I said and we left.

 **A/N: Thank you to everyone who is following this story and leaving reviews I'm so happy you like it. Also I have a pinterest page where there are boards from my stories including this one so check it out. username is hilaryh21 (I really should change that I'm not 21 anymore lol)**


	6. Chapter 6

**The Beauty and the Geek**

Foyet escaped, aka the Reasper, aka the psychopath who is tormenting my brother. I cant even to express how scared and angry I was. Aaron was always calling me every night to make sure I made it home okay and that my doors were locked and if I had my gun by my bed.

Me, Morgan, Emily and Spencer get a call from JJ telling us to come in, "Case must be local. Jj said not to bring a go bag." Spencer said as we exited the elevator

"What's the army doing here?" Morgan asked

"What the hell is going on?" I asked and there is overlapping chatter, we head to the round room.

"Guys, this is Dr. Linda Kimura, Chief of special pathogens with the CDC." JJ said and Aaron and Rossi walk in.

"Hello." Emily said

"Hello. I'm sorry to meet under these circumstances." Dr. Kimura said

"What circumstances?" Spencer asked

"We need to get started." Aaron said

"Last night, 25 people checked into emergency rooms In and around annapolis. They were all at the same park after 2 p.m. yesterday. Within 10 hours, the first victim died. It's now just past 7 a.m. The next day, we have 12 dead." JJ said

"Lung failure and black lesions." Morgan said, "Anthrax?"

"Anthrax doesn't kill this fast." I said

"This strain does." the doctor said

"What are we doing about potential mass targets- Airports, malls, trains?" Emily asked

"There's a media blackout." Aaron said and I looked at him

"We're not telling the public?" I asked

"We'd have a mass exodus." Morgan said

"The psychology of group panic Would cause more deaths than this last attack." Rossi said

"Yeah, and if it does get out, whoever did this Might go underground or destroy their samples." Spencer says

"Or if they wanted attention and didn't get it, they might attack again. Doesn't the public have the right to know that?" I said

"If there is another attack, There's no way we'll be able to keep it quiet. Our best chance of protecting the public Is by building a profile as quickly as we can." Aaron said

"What do we know about this strain?" Spencer asked

"The spores are weaponized, reduced to a respiral ideal That attacks deep in the lungs. Odorless and invisible." Kimura said

"A sophisticated strain. Only a scientist would know how to do that." Rossi said

"These lesions are doubling in size in a matter of hours." Morgan pointed out

"It's not the lesions I'm worried about. It's the lungs. We don't know how to combat the toxins once they're inside. And the reality is, we may lose them all."

"The remaining survivors have been moved to a special wing at Walter Reed hospital. Our offices will become a small command center." JJ said

"We'll be working with military scientists from Fort Detrick." Aaron said

"General Whitworth is coming here?" Rossi asked

"He's in charge of site containment and spore analysis. Determining what strain this is will help inform who's responsible." Aaron told him

"My team is in charge of treating all victims." Kimura said

"Reid, Elizabeth go with Dr. Kimura to the hospital. Interview the victims. Morgan and Prentiss, there's a hazmat team that will accompany you to the crime scene." Aaron said to us, "There's cipro. everybody needs to take it before we go."

"We don't know if it's effective against this strain, But it's something." Kimura said and we all grabbed a cup

"This is really happening?" I asked

"We knew this could happen. We've done our homework. We've prepared for this. This is it." Aaron said taking the pills, I followed after.

"jin dan." Rossi said "May you live 100 years."

Me and Spencer made our way to JJ's office, "Do you have those files I've been looking for?" Spencer asked as we walked into the office

"Did you see this memo from the director? Office phones and emails are being monitored." She said looking at her computer.

"Yeah, they're trying to protect the media blackout. files?" Spencer asked

"Uh, yeah, right here." She said pointing to the one on top

"Thanks. I want to see what kind of medical treatment The victims received before we head to the hospital."

"Why do you think the suspect in 2001 stopped sending the letters?" She asked

"I have no idea, but if he hadn't, It would have been much worse." Spencer said flipping through the files, sometimes I hated how fast he can read things.

"The worst part was not knowing when it was gonna be over. Feeling safe opening mail again." she said

"5 people died. Many more exposed and sickened, Including a baby who was admitted to the hospital after lesions appeared on his skin." Spencer said and I looked at JJ I saw the worry on her face.

"How did he contract it?" She asked

"I have no idea. must have come into close contact with a tainted letter or crossed paths with the unsub himself."

"How old was the baby?" She asked

"7 months." Spencer said

"Did he survive?"

"I gotta run. Kimura's waiting. I'll call you from the hospital." Spencer said and started to leave.

"Spence." She said and he stopped, "Did the baby survive?"

"Yeah, but, I mean, that was a curable strain. This thing's entirely different." He said and I looked at her.

"It'll be okay JJ." I told her giving her hand a gentle squeeze and followed Spencer.

Later we arrived at the hospital with Kimura and we headed to a female patients room, "Hi, abby. You feeling any better?" The girl shook her head, "Ok. This is agent Reid and agent Elizabeth Hotchner from the FBI. If you can, will you talk with them?"

"Abby, I'd like to try to do a memory recall exercise with you to take you back to the park, if that's ok." Spencer asked her, "I need you to close your eyes. Yesterday afternoon, you rode your bicycle to the park. How did the sun feel on your skin, The breeze through your hair? Can you describe for me what you heard and the people that you saw?"

"It was warm, windy. There were guys...football. Kids... I see free... Me seen fee me. Free knee. S...sin knee." She said and I looked at Spencer then back at Abby

"All right, abby. That's ok. You just rest now, ok?"

"Me mock fee key me free." Abby was trying to say something.

"Shh, shh, shh. You just rest. Ok? Thank you." Kimura said and we left the room

"What's causing her aphasia?" I asked

"The poison is infecting the parietal lobe, Impairing her speech. Some of the other patients displayed the same symptoms Shortly before they died."

"None of the drug combinations are working?" Spencer asked

The only thing that's helping them right now is the morphine." Kimura said and we continued walking through the hospital.

We hear a code being called to a room and we rush over, there's a flatline tone and a doctor covers up the now deceased man.

"38-year-old high school history teacher. Leaves 2 kids behind." Kimura said and we walked over to the receptionists counter

"17 out of 25 dead." Spencer said

"This strain is duplicating Every 30 to 45 minutes. It's poisoning the lungs, causing massive hemorrhaging and organ failure."

"Extreme bacterial amplification. Whoever created this had to at some point go to the trouble of testing it." Spencer said

"What do you mean?" I asked

"Think about the way scientists work their way up to human testing. They start with rodents, then advance to larger mammals, And then at some point, they do a very small trial run with people. There's no way this was his first human test run."

We would have heard about a previous anthrax attack." Kimura said

"Not if it presented itself as something else."

Just after a short bit Spencer's phone rings, "Hello?"

 _"Uh, Reid, you have me, Rossi, and Hotch."_ JJ said

"Kimura made some calls. It turns out That 2 days ago, 2 people in 2 separate baltimore e.r.s and one person in a philadelphia e.r slipped into comas and died suddenly. Now, the c.o.d. on all of them was meningitis. Doctors didn't test for anthrax because the illnesses presented themselves as meningitis, but I think it can be caused by anthrax."

 _"Did they show symptoms that we're seeing now- the lesions?"_ Rossi asked

"They wouldn't have if the bodily functions expired as quickly as they did."

 _"How quickly?"_ Aaron asked

"All dead within 3 hours of being admitted." I said

 _"But the first patient died yesterday at 10 hours."_ Aaron said

"Here's the thing- if they inhaled a higher concentration of the strain, It would cause a quicker death. Organ failure without exterior physical symptoms." Spencer said

 _"What are their names?"_ Aaron asked

"It feels like the plagues of egypt." Kimura said

"10 scourges created by god. Plague 6 was unhealable boils believed by biblical scholars to be caused by anthrax." Spencer said

"Never missed sunday school, did you?" Kimura asked him and I hid a smile while looking at Abby.

"Actually, never been before." Spencer said.

"How is she doing?" I asked

"She's a fighter. She's held on this long because she's young and strong. But she's started to bleed into her lungs." Kimura said and I closed my eyes hiding back tears.

"One of 4 left." Spencer said and must have noticed my expression because he put a hand on my shoulder.

"We're running into another problem. When the next of kin have questions, What do we tell them about cause of death?" Kimura asked, me and Spencer had no answer.

I was still standing there looking at Abby when Spencer walked back over to me, "You okay?"

"I keep thinking about Jack, I havent seen him in a week because we've been so busy but...a part of me wants to leave, rush over to Haley's and take them both somewhere." I said and Spencer put his hand on my back.

"I know you want to, but you know we can't, and I'm sure Hotch is as every bit as worried as you are." He said and I looked at him.

"I know I'm not suppose to think about worst case scenerios with things like this, but I just came back into his life. I can't lose now Spence." I said swallowing the lump in my throat and fought back tears, Spencer wraps his arms around me pulling me into a hug. _Why does he have to make this so difficult?_

Morgan calls Spencer and tells us he's coming to get us so we can head over to a Dr. Nichols's house, a suspect in the antherax attack.

"Clear so far." one of the hazmat guys tells us.

"All right, keep me posted." Morgan said and looked at us, "This guy just had people over for a charity event last month."

"We should probably take a look around anyway." Spencer said and we headed towards the house, "Ow."

"You okay?" I asked him.

"I'm fine."

Morgan's phone rings, I don't know why but I stopped with him and Spencer continued forward, "Yeah, princess, what's up? Uh-huh. Yeah, we're here now. Sorry. what? The lab is clean? You're sure? All right. They got nothin'" He said hanging up but we turned to see that Spencer was no longer in sight. "Reid. Reid! Reid? Reid? Reid!"

"Elizabeth, Morgan, get-get back! Get back! Get out of here!" Spencer yelled at us and shut the door and started locking it.

"What are you doing? What's wrong?" I asked getting closer to the door

"No, don't!"

"What's wrong?" Morgan asked.

"Believe me, get back."

"Spencer, open the door!" I said to him but he ignored me.

"I'm sorry." He said looking at me, I looked past him and saw a broken vial on the ground and my heart sank.

"Morgan, how's Reid?" Aaron said walking up to us with the general and a few of his men.

"There's white powder in the room and the air was blasting." Morgan said.

"Get a decon team suited up. Secure a gray zone outside that door. Clean him up and get him in the ambulance fast." The general ordered his people

"I should have been right there with him." Morgan said

"Morgan, there's no time for second-guessing. What do we know?" Aaron asked.

"Nichols is dead. Blunt force trauma to his head. Reid thinks he's been dead 2 or 3 days."

"Well, then he couldn't have been responsible for the attack." the general pointed out.

"Spencer took cipro today, so he's gotta be ok, right?" I asked and Aaron put his hand on my shoulder.

"I don't know. It was precautionary." Aaron said

"It's not helping patients at the hospital." Whitworth said

"Yeah, but they didn't take it until after they were exposed. Reid took it before." Morgan said

"Yeah, but we've never tested this strain-" Whitworth said and Aarons phone rings, "-on a cipro-ready subject. We just don't know."

"Reid." Aaron said answering it.

 _"Hotch, I really messed up this time."_

"Reid, we need to get you out and to the hospital." Aaron said

 _"No. I'm staying right here."_

"No, you're not, Reid." Morgan said

 _"I'm already exposed. it's not gonna do me any good to stop working the case."_

"He's already infected. Now, if Nichols created the strain, He may have also created the cure." Whitworth said

 _"My best chance is to stay here, see if there's a cure, Try to figure out who killed dr. nichols."_

"Come on, Aaron, say something to him." I said and looked back at the house.

"He's right. His best chance is inside. We're gonna get a suit and mask into you right away." Aaron said and I sighed.

 _"Don't bother. it's not gonna do me any good. I'm already infected."_

"Reid, what do you see in there?" Aaron asked

 _"I see cages filled with dead animals. I see signs of a struggle, Probably before Dr. Nichols was murdered. Equipment's missing. There's a large desk. Clutter all over the surface. But in the corner, There's a smaller desk. It's organized, functional."_

"Two different work spaces?" I asked

 _"Two sets of handwriting. I'm looking at instructions on how to boil lab-grade broth, Sterilize lab equipment, and transfer spores."_

"Nichols would know all that." Whitworth said

 _"He has a partner, maybe even a protege. Go back to the b.a.u., try to figure out who this partner is."_

"Aaron, Morgan, why don't you go? I'll stay with Spencer." I said but Morgan shook his head and I saw Aaron look at me with a big no expression on his face, "Look, I've studied this all throughout college, I can be a better help to him here then I can at the BAU." I said and they both reluctently agreed.

"Funnel all the information you get to me." Aaron said and I nodded, he put his hand on my shoulder then him and Morgan left, I took out my phone and dialed his number, a few moments later he hung up. I looked at the house, _What are you doing?_

 **Spencer POV...**

 _"Hey, reid."_ Garcia said

"Gee, wow, no, uh... No witty garcia greeting for me?" I asked

She sighs, " _I can't be my sparkly self When you are where you are."_

"Garcia, do you think you can do something for me?"

 _"Anything."_ she said

"I, uh... I know I can't call my mom Without, uh-" I cleared my throat, "- Without alerting everyone at her hospital." I said.

 _"What do you need?"_

"I, uh... I need you to record a message for her in case anything happens to me." I said and I looked outside and saw Elizabeth standing there with her arms folded across her chest.

 _"Oh, nothing's going to happen to you. You're gonna...brilliantly find out who did this And we're gonna treat this strain."_ Garcia said

I exhale, "I hope you're right, But if you're not, I just- I really want to make sure that she hears my voice."

 _"Ok. just, uh, give me a second."_ She said.

"I also want to um...record something for Elizabeth."

 _"Oh okay. Are you ready?_ She asked me

"Ready." I said and I took a breath, "Hi, mom. this is spencer. I just, um...I just...really want you to know that I love you And-" My voice catches, so I clear my throat, "I need you to know that I spend every day of my life proud to be your son." I finished holding back tears.

 _"Okay, next one._ "

"Elizabeth...I don't even know where to start...I'm sorry I did this, you're probably really mad at me but also really worried. Remember the time in New York when you were worried about Hotch and I hugged you? What I never really told you...which I really should have given the circumstances...but I wanted to tell you that for a long time now..." I cleared my throat again, "I have been in love with you...and being who I am I was to shy to say anything, but Eliz..Liz, promise me you will umm...be happy...and live your life each day, be there for Hotch and Jack and just know I'll always love you.." I said

 _"Reid?"_

"I gotta go." I said and hung up the phone.

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I watched Dr. Kimura and a couple people head into the house in hazmat suits while I stood there chewing on my nail, then I grabbed my phone and dialed Spencer.

 _"Hello."_

"How's it going in there?"

 _"I've seen better days."_

Well, you got me and Garcia." I said

 _"Hey, reid."_

I hear Spencercoughing, "Spencer stick with me. Listen, Prentiss and Rossi don't think the partner was a coworker. Can you tell us anything else about him?" I asked

 _"I...i've already been through everything."_

"Come on, now, I know you're not thinking straight, but the Spencer I know wouldn't stop looking." I said

 _"All right, all right."_ He said and clears his throat _, "I see a, uh, a framed photograph of Dr. Nichols teaching. I see a...I see a binder with syllabi. Course assignments Going all the way back to the 1970s."_

"All right. so he kept a scrapbook of himself as a professor. That tells us that he values himself as an educator." I said

 _"A teacher. I saw something earlier. I didn't-I didn't make a connection to it or to the partner, but he has a study on anthrax. He has an annotated bibliography, table of contents. It's formatted like a thesis and has writing in the margins in red ink, like the way a teacher grades a paper. Now, Nichols wouldn't have let just anyone in here, but he may have opened his lab For educational purposes, as a teacher."_

"So the partner must have appealed to him as a student. Nichols is helping him with his thesis." I said

 _"I-i can look up local ph.d. students."_ Garcia said

"Yeah, check the sciences. Biochemistry, microbiology."

 _"Uh... Cross-checking with names Of former employees or customers with grievances At the bookstore."_ she said, _"Nothing, my doves."_

Spencer coughed, _"Listen to this. "this country is woefully unprepared. "every household should have a 2-month supply of cipro. Hospitals are in need of bio-safety level 4 decon wings."_

"That's verbatim to what we heard from Nichols. The partner's adopted Nichols' views as his own." I said

 _"The chapters are on setting up triage and mobile emergency rooms. I don't think this paper was written by a science student. It's about city preparedness and response."_

"So, Garcia, check with students in the social studies- Public policy, urban planning." I said

 _"Hot to trot. There's a chad brown, School of public policy at u. of. m. matches a chad brown, former employee at the book front."_ Garcia said

"That's gotta be him." I said

 _"Totally. he's been in the doctoral program on and off for 5 years. Nix on a steady job. Was slapped with a restraining order from his former girlfriend and has been arrested and released twice At protest rallies in d.c. I'll tell hotch."_ Garcia said and hung up

"Spencer you did real good. Now please get the hell out of there." I said to him.

 _"Bye."_ he said and hung up.

"Damn it." I said and they bring him into the contamination area and start washing him.

I was on the phone with Aaron, "Yeah, they're hosing him down now. All right." I said and hung up, "They're checking out Brown's house." I said to him

"Go help hotch." Spencer said to me

"Hotch has plenty of people helping him." I said

"He needs you more than I do."

"Spencer, I'm gonna see you off to the hospital." I said.

"I'm about to get naked so they can scrub me down. Is that something you really want to see?" He asked me, _Yes_ , damn it snap out of it.

"I'll check on you later." I said to him and looked at Kimura, "Take good care of him, please" I said and she nodded.

I met up with Aaron, Morgan, general Whitwirth and a few other soldiers at the BAU when Garcia walked up to us.

"Dr. Kimura called. Reid's in trouble." She said

"What do you mean?" I asked

"He got way sicker on the way to the hospital. He's in respiratory distress." She said

"Listen, he's with the people who can help him the most. I need everybody's head here right now." Aaron said.

"Ok, so, uh, we spoke to Brown's sister. They've been estranged for years." JJ said

"Did she say anything about the park or the bookstore?" Morgan asked

"Quiet hills park was where he proposed to a girl. She said no. The bookstore's where he worked to put himself through college. I guess he's bitter about not being promoted."

"So both locations represent rejection to him." Aaron said

"So what's our next move?" Morgan asked.

"Prentiss and Rossi found maps of transit systems at his house."

"Here we go." Garcia said and left.

"Dr. Nichols wrote a classified study Commissioned by the u.s. senate. It simulated a mock anthrax attack on the d.c. train systems. Now, he emphasized the main line-the red line- As most vulnerable to an attack. Forceful tunnel winds, Biggest crowds, Highest mortality risk. Now, I deployed teams to every stop on the red line." Withworth said

"I don't think he's targeting the red line." Aaron told him

"But you said he adopted all of nichols' ideas. Wouldn't he want to prove this theory?"

"We also said that he chooses locations that are personal to him, ones that represent rejection. What is the one place that's rejected him over and over again?" Aaron asked.

"Fort Detrick." I said

"It'd be impossible for him to get in."

"He wouldn't have to attack the fort. He could go after the people that work there Or on their commute." Morgan said

"The closest station to the marc train is Frederick." JJ said

"Get on the line to Maryland transit." Aaron told her.

"But the study said the red line." Whitworth said

"The profile says he's going to Frederick. That's where I'm going, and I could really use your help." Aaron told him

After what felt like hours we finally got the all clear from Aaron and Whitworth, I headed to the hospital to see Spencer, he was still sleeping but I was allowed to sit in his room. I curled up on the chair and started reading.

"Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore." I hear Spencer say and I put down my book.

"Hey." I said and looked out of the room, "Hey, doc look who's back." I said.

"Is there any more jell-o?" Spencer asked and I looked at the empty jell-o cup I ate.

"Sorry." I said and he tried to move.

"Hey. Not so fast." Kimura said entering the room

"What happened?" He asked.

"You're gonna be all right, and they got brown. It's over." I said

"How's abby?" Spencer asked.

"She's on the mend. So are the 3 others. You were right about where to look for his cure." Kimura said.

"Why was Dr. Nichols making anthrax in the first place?" Spencer asked

"He was a brain scientist downgraded to working on the flu. Brown comes along asking for help on his thesis..." I said

"Would have been more than happy to share his knowledge."

"There was no indication that Nichols had any idea what brown was planning." I said

"His strain and its cure are getting locked up in containment at fort detrick, With all the other bio-agents people don't know about." Kimura said

"Hmm really. What else do they have locked up in there?" I asked


	7. Chapter 7

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **A/N: I want to thank everyone again for reading, leaving me reviews and following this story. As I have mentioned before this is a slooow burn, so don't hate me for how long its taking, it will all be worth it. Enjoy my pretties!**

Me, JJ and Spencer were waiting upstairs of an apartment waiting for the others, it had been a few months since Spencer recovered from the antherax, when he was laying in the hospital I almost wanted to tell him how I felt, I really really want to but I can't bring myself to open up again.

"Oh, you guys are already here. You guys remember Detective Walker?" I heard JJ say snapping me out of my thoughts and I see Rossi, Morgan and Emily enter.

"Thanks for being here. I understand none of you are working on much rest." Walker said

"Who's the victim?" Rossi asked

"His name is Nelson Martinez. From what we can figure, he answered his door, Was forced into the apartment at gunpoint and then shot in the chest. It was all pretty sloppy."

"No disrespect, but I don't understand why you need us here." Morgan said

"2 days ago, a local doctor named Tom Barton found a note addressed to him at the hospital. It said the person was planning to kill his son. If Dr. Barton tried to keep his boy hidden, One person would die every day in his place."

"And you think this is connected?" I asked

"The note is signed L. C." Spencer said

"Yesterday we had another victim. Multiple gunshots outside the apartment. The shooter wrote L. C. In white chalk next to the body."

"Now, unless Dr. Barton puts his son in harm's way, We're gonna keep having a victim a day." Spencer said

"Where's Barton now?" Rossi asked

"He's at home. He doesn't know about this victim yet." JJ said

"Where's Aaron?" I asked

"He's not answering his cell. I assume it's on vibrate. He'll get the message when he wakes up." JJ told me

"Try him again. He can meet us at barton's house." Rossi tells her

We all start to leave the apartment and head outside, I was walking behind JJ who was calling Aaron again, "Hotch, jj again. Listen, we're gonna need you to meet us at an address In McLean, Virginia... 120 kensington road. Call me when you get this."

* * *

"Dr. Barton, where is your son right now?" Emily asked him

"Um, I asked him to stay up in his room." Barton said

"And what did you tell him?" JJ asked

"I told him that there was a threat against me at the hospital. I told him the police didn't take it seriously But that they wanted me to stay here for a few days And that I wanted to have him with me."

"And Jeffrey's mother?" Rossi asked

"She died when he was 10. Breast cancer. Would someone really hurt Jeffrey?" Barton asked

"2 people are dead already. Whoever sent that note is obviously serious." Rossi said

"And if I don't let Jeffrey out of the house, then another person's gonna die?"

"Right now we have to assume that he will keep killing." Morgan said

"My son is 15 years old."

"I understand." Morgan said

"I cannot put him in danger."

"We are not asking you to. And even if you were willing, We couldn't send him to school Knowing he would endanger every student in the building." I said

"What we need to do now Is go over everything we know, Piece together how this person fits into your life." Rossi said

"Well, I...I... I can't think of anyone who would want to kill Jeffrey." Barton said

"Whoever wrote that note was putting you on notice...This is personal. He wants you to remember who he is, and until that happens, he hasn't accomplished what he set out to do." Emily said

"I know you've been asked this before, but, please, think again... do you know anyone with the initials L.C." Morgan asked

Barton sighed, "I've looked everywhere...Day planner, emails, Patient lists. There's no one."

"Have you noticed anyone who might have been watching you, either at the hospital or here in the neighborhood?" I asked

"I...i'm sorry."

"Both the victims he's killed have been Hispanic men in their 40s. Have you had a patient recently that fits the description?" Walker asked him

"I'm a trauma surgeon in D.C I have endless patients, all demographics."

"We're gonna need records of all your recent surgeries." Rossi said

"Of course."

"I'll call Garcia." JJ said walking away and I followed her

"JJ. Is there any word from Aaron?" I asked her

"No, nothing.

"Huh. That's not like him." I said, I was getting worried now

"Yeah, I know." She said and I headed back into the living room

"It's mine." Barton said when his phone rang, "Hello? Jeffrey? What...what's happening? Are you ok?" Barton asked and Morgan ran out of the living room and headed upstairs, "Jeffrey, what's going on? Talk to me."

"He's not up here." Morgan said from the upstairs balcony

"Jeffrey, where are you? Jeffrey..."

"Dr. Barton, please." I said walking out the front door going after him.

"You need to go back inside." Rossi said turning around

"I'm coming with you. I'm gonna get my son." Barton said

"Sir, right now nobody is getting your son." Morgan said

"Agent Hotchner will explain it." JJ said

"I don't need an explanation. I'm getting Jeffrey."

"You need to listen right now. Once your son left this house, The safest place for him to be is at that school." Rossi said stepping in front of him

"We can control access in and out. Detective Walker will organize an evacuation as soon as the school day is done. But if we incite a panic now And the unsub is outside, a lot of kids are gonna die." Morgan said

"What if the killer is already at the school?"

"Then we'll be there, too." JJ said

"Let us do our job." Rossi told him

"Jeffrey knows better than this. He doesn't put himself in danger."

"I think he's just trying to do the right thing. He sees what his father does for a living. This is his way of trying to save lives, too." Morgan said

"You'll be there?"

"Yes." Rossi said

"Tell him I'm not mad at him. Tell him I love him, and, uh...I'm proud of him."

"We will." Morgan said

* * *

"Let's concentrate on the note. For starters, we know that he's male." Spencer said

"How can you be sure?" Barton asked

"Women tend to add adjectives and very specific details to their notes. This has none of those." I said

"Males are also more direct. First sentence..."I plan to kill your son." " Spencer said

"And their notes tend to be more about themselves than the person they're writing to. "I watched you every day." "I will watch you lose everything." " I said

"We know he surveilled you and your son, which means he either has enough money to be away from a regular job Or he's currently unemployed." Spencer said

"He's most likely a father. He's clearly grieving. He's taken great measures to make sure you feel his pain." I said

"Let's start with cases involving teenagers killed, but also anyone with a strong family presence. Just because your son is 15, that doesn't necessarily mean that his child is the same age."

"Have you had a lot of cases like this, where someone taunts you with what they're gonna do?" Barton asked

"A few." I said

"And how did they end?" He asked, me and Spencer shared a look then looked back down at our papers, "Please."

"Suicide by cop seems to be an effective way for them to make their point, while ending their suffering all at once." Reid said

"Jeffrey is leaving school in 5 hours. There's no way we can get through all these patients in this time."

"Oh trust me with him we can." I said and pointed at Spencer who gave me a small smile, "Plus we've narrowed it down already."

"And we still have 100 left. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be callous, but when you work in the E.R. you don't remember names. You operate and you move on." Barton said

"He's right there are too many files here for us to profile in such a short period of time. Um, I can get to Aaron's and get back here in half an hour." I said standing up

"Who's that?" Barton asked

"He's our supervisor. We weren't supposed to work today. We're having trouble getting ahold of him." Spencer said

"But we need more eyes." I said and headed out.

* * *

I pulled up to Aaron's apartment complex, got out locking the car and headed inside. I arrive at his door and knocked, "Aaron? It's me...Elizabeth." I said, no answer, so I pulled out my phone and called him. I hear a cell phone ringing inside the apartment. I grab my copy of his key to open the door but I find that it's already unlocked. I reach for my gun and ready it entering the apartment, I take a look around and see his keys on the table by the door, his breifcase on the chair, a bullet hole in his wall, broken glass on the floor and a blood pool.

"Oh god" I said and pulled out my phone again.

 _"Overtime shift. Penelope speaking."_

"Garcia, it's Elizabeth. I need you to listen really carefully. Something's happened to Aaron." I said

 _"What do you mean, something?"_

"I don't know. I'm in his place. He's not here, but there's blood." I said

 _"Oh, my god."_

"I need you to send police and FBI techs here right away. Everyone available."

 _"Uh, do we need an APB?"_ she asked

"Only on Aaron. I checked out front. His car's still here."

 _"Someone took him?"_

"I don't know, there's blood, but I can't be sure whose it is. Just get people here." I said

 _"Ok, I'm sending an army."_

"Garcia, I'm gonna have to tell Spencer because he's expecting me back, but you can't tell the others. They cannot be distracted." I tell her

 _"Ok. Ok."_ She said and hung up, I quickly dialed Spencer.

 _"Hey."_ Spencer said answering the phone.

"Spence something happened to Aaron."

 _"What? What...what are you talking about? No, no, it's unrelated. I'm really sorry, I have to take this phone call, ok? I assure you, this will take one second. Please, I promise."_ I hear him say, he must have been talking to Barton

"There's a huge hole in the wall. Probably a .44, but there's no blood or tissue spray around it." I said

 _"Any idea how he got out?"_ Spencer asked

"If he was shot, there are no drag marks, but a body could have been wrapped in something."

 _"And bureau techs are on the way?"_

"Any second." I said

 _"All right, um, write down everything you see and we'll profile from your notes when you get back."_ Spencer said

"How's dr. Barton?" I asked

 _"It's a huge list of cases to go through with him."_

"Ok, don't worry about here. I've got this. Just stay focused."

 _"All right. You, too."_ He said and hung up, _Why do I have to love you so much Spencer?_

I put on some gloves and start looking through his apartment writing down details of everything I see, I open up his day planner that I got him for his birthday and went to the address book, the first thing I see is a picture of me and him smiling at the camera the day we celebrated Henry's birth, I noticed the B page was missing.

After the FBI techs arrived and started working my phone rang, "Talk to me, Garcia."

 _"Ok, i...i called hospitals to see if Hotch had gotten himself admitted to an emergency room."_ she said

"And?"

 _"He's not listed as a patient, But someone dropped a john doe off at St. Sebastian hospital, and that someone's name was FBI agent Derek Morgan."_ She said

"It doesn't make sense."

 _"I know. Do you think they got their credentials mixed up?"_

Suddenly it hit me, "The Reaper. Foyet took Morgan's creds." I said

 _"Why would he drop him off at the E.R.?"_

"What hospital did you say again?" I asked

 _"St. Sebastian hospital."_

"I'll call you with an update when I get there." I said and hung up the phone heading out to my car.

* * *

"He was stabbed 9 times, but no major arteries were hit. It's a miracle he's alive." The doctor told me and I looked at my big brother laying in a hospital bed.

"When will he wake up?" I asked

"The anesthesia should wear off within the hour. But he's bound to be out of it."

"Ok. May I stay here?" I asked

"Of course." She said

"Thank you." I said and pulled a chair up to his bed and put my hand on his, "You promised you were gonna stop scaring me like this Aaron." I said and leaned back.

At one point I got up and looked at his chart, I noticed under his name the initials L.C were written, I made my way out of the room and walked up to the doctor.

"This abbreviation right here, L. C., What does that stand for?" I asked.

* * *

I dialed Spencer and waited for him to answer, " _Yeah."_

"L. C. from the unsub's note. It stands for "living children." " I said to him

 _"Are you sure?"_

"It's administrative. It's when they're afraid a patient's gonna go on life support and they don't have a DNR order." I said and there was a pause, "Spencer?"

 _"What if the unsub was trying to tell Dr. Barton that he is actually the target and that he's gonna leave his son without a father?"_ Spencer said and there was another pause _, "Barton!"_ I hear him yell then suddenly there's a gunshot.

 _"_ Spencer? Answer me. Spencer?" I said but there wasn't an answer, I hung up and called 911, "This is special agent Elizabeth Hotchner from the FBI. I need police and an ambulance to 120 kensington road, McLean, Virginia. Shots fired, federal agent possibly down." I said and hung up.

Later the other's arrive and tell me Spencer was rushed to surgery after being shot in the leg, "He's still isn't conscious yet." I said to them

"You sure it was Foyet?" Rossi asked

"He had Morgan's credentials." I said

"Did they catch him on the security cam?" Morgan asked me

"You could see him dropping Aaron off, but the camera's only on the entrance, so I have no idea what direction he went once he left the hospital."

"It doesn't make sense for him to have brought Hotch to the E.R." JJ said

"We know Foyet gets off on power and control. Maybe what he wants is for Hotch to know his life was in his hands." Rossi said

"He could do that without risking the hospital." Morgan said

"Agents, he's waking up." The doctor said to us and we looked at her, "Remember, he's weak. Don't push him." she said and I headed in with the others following me.

"Where am I?" Aaron asked and I put my hand on his.

"In the hospital." Rossi told him

"How did I get here?"

"Foyet drove you." Morgan said

"Can you remember what happened?" I asked him

"What did he take?" Aaron asked

"What do you mean?" Rossi asked

"The Reaper always takes something from his victims. Do we know what he took?"

"There was a page missing from your day planner in the address section, the B's." I told him

"What did he leave?"

"I don't know." I said

"He also leaves something with his victims."

"I looked over your whole apartment. Nothing felt out of place." I told him

"Where are my clothes?" He asked and I grabbed the bag with his belongings in it and started handing things to him, he grabbed his badge and held up a picture, "Haley's maiden name is Brooks. I always listed her in the B's in my personal information in case it fell into the wrong hands. He knows where they live." Aaron said and my heart twisted.

JJ, Rossi, Morgan and Emily left, I stayed behind with Aaron, as much as I wanted to go get my nephew I needed to be here for my brother. Aaron was looking at the picture of Haley and Jack when he closed his eyes, suddenly the monitor started beeping rapidly.

"What happened?" The doctor asked walking into the room.

"I don't know" I said.

"Agent Hotchner. Can you hear me? Agent Hotchner?" the doctor said

"I'm ok." Aaron said

"I'm gonna need you to step out of the room." the doctor told me

I nodded my head and walked into the hall, I turned and looked back at Aaron, I started biting my nail whe my phone rang.

"They're safe." I told Aaron from the door.

* * *

"You were at my place, right?" Aaron asked and I nodded, "Could you tell how he got in?"

"I'm not sure." I said, "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"I don't know. After he stabbed me the first time, it all goes blank." He said and I see Haley walking into the room, I walked past her and put my hand on her arm.

I headed down the hall and saw Jack sitting there with the others, "Auntie Lizbeth!" Jack said getting up and running over to me.

"Hey buddy." I said and pulled him into a hug, "How are you?"

"Is daddy okay?" He asked me

"Oh yeah, your dad is so tough nothing can take him down." I said and he smiled at me, I gave him a sad smile, I wasn't going to be able to see him for god knows how long and it broke my heart. I love my nephew and Haley, and I would die to protect them. Haley came and got Jack bringing him to Aaron's room.

"I know Aaron's worried. Tell him I'll protect them like they're my own." The marshal told us and I thanked him, Haley and Jack come out of the room, the others walk away but I kneel down in front of Jack.

"Hey buddy, can I have a hug?" I asked him and he wrapped his little arms around me, I stayed like that holding back tears, "I love you so much handsome." I said.

"I love you too Auntie Lizbeth." Jack said and I closed my eyes, I let go of Jack and stood up.

"Be safe Haley." I said and gave her a hug, even though her and Aaron have divorced me and her were still as close as we were when I met her, she will always be my sister.

I watched as the marshal walked away with them and I wiped the tears from my eyes and headed to check on Spencer. When I arrived at his room JJ was just leaving.

"You know if you keep ending up in the hospital their gonna name a wing after you." I said and he looked up.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked me and I shook my head.

"No, not really. Haley and Jack just left with the marshal." I said and hung my head trying to fight back the tears again.

"Come here." Spencer said and I looked at him, he patted the open spot on the bed and I sat down, "It'll be okay, once we catch Foyet they can return home and everything will be fine." He said and put his hand on mine.

"I hope your right." I said and he lifted up his other arm, I moved forward and gave him a hug, "Thank you Spence." I said

"For what." He asked

"You always find a way to cheer me up when I feel like I'm gonna break at any moment."

"You'll never break, you're strong, stronger then you think." He said and I looked at him, _Just kiss him damn it._

After I left Spencer's room I headed back to Aaron's he was looking up at the ceiling, I walked over, kicked off my shoes and carefully crawled next to him in the bed like I used to do when I was a kid every time there was a storm, he put his arm around me and I laid my head on his chest.

"It'll be okay big brother." I said and Aaron kissed the top of my head, we both hoped so, we would catch Foyet and bring them home, even if we die trying.


	8. Chapter 8

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Hey, how was your weekend?" I asked Spencer as we walked to him at the house we were called to.

"Uh, scary yet informative. Was the whole family killed?" He inquired.

"Hudson, this is Dr. Spencer Reid." Rossi introduced.

"Field agent Anne Hudson. The, uh, father is serving in Iraq. 3 nights ago the cops found his family buried over there." Hudson spoke, pointing toward the burial area.

"Buried?" Spencer asked, his brows pulling together.

"The neighbors heard the dog barking, came over, and he was scratching at the grave. Lucy, their oldest child, she's still in her swimsuit." I said.

"What does the father know?" Aaron asked.

"Some of it. He was on patrol; took his unit a couple of days to reach him. He arrives today." Hudson informed the team.

"Last year the Williams family was killed and found exactly the same way. They lived in Newport news." Rossi said.

"The father, Dan Williams, was also serving overseas." Morgan said. A lot had changed in the past few weeks; Aaron stepped down as supervisor as he believed he was compromised due to Foyet being on the hunt for Haley and Jack and them having to go into protective custody.

"Now the police are overwhelmed and getting serious heat from the military. We need some answers fast." Hudson spoke with a sigh.

"As do the media; they're already calling this the work of a serial killer," JJ agreed.

"They're right it is." Aaron nodded.

"But why bury them? I mean, it can't be to hide the bodies." Hudson speculated.

"It's a sign of remorse." Rossi informed him.

"And when they're done being remorseful, this will happen again." Morgan said.

TBATG

A jet flies over head as we stand in the backyard. "F-22 Raptor." Morgan pointed out.

"Yeah, it's about to get way louder and much busier. Tomorrow is Langley's 50th anniversary air show," Hudson said.

"The father of the first family killed-Dan Williams … where is he now?" Morgan asked her.

"He put in for another tour of Iraq. An I.E.D. killed him 2 months ago."

"Whoever did this knew both fathers were serving overseas," Morgan thought out loud.

"Laura Downey's wedding rings are missing. Any other valuables?" I asked, shielding my eyes from the sun.

"We'll have to ask the husband. From the William's home, only jewelry and watches were missing."

"The unsub only took what he can carry, which means he's most likely on foot." Spencer suggested.

"There was a photo on the wall in the kitchen. I'd like to see it." Rossi said as he and Aaron joined us.

"Sure."

"There's no sign of sexual assault in the William's case. What about Lucy?" Aaron asked.

"Nothing on the coroner's report. Multiple suspects?"

"The mother was dragged out of the house. If it had been multiple suspects, they probably would have carried her," Aaron replied.

"He knew the father was absent, therefore the dominant threat was absent. So we could be looking for a single suspect," Morgan suggested.

"No sign of forced entry," Hudson spoke as she shook her head.

"No need," Aaron began. "Lucy was in the pool; back door was open. The unsub walked right in."

"That means Lucy probably died last." Spencer speculated.

"In both cases the girls were suffocated and not shot. I don't think it's a coincidence." Aaron said as JJ's phone rang.

"Hey, Garcia. You're on speaker."

"We just got a call From Virginia super max prison.," Garcia began. "One of the inmates there has received 2 envelopes in the last 2 days. First envelope had clippings of the Newport News killings. Second envelope had media clippings of the Downey family. In the second envelope was a note saying, 'Look at what I've done' and both pieces of mail have been signed by 'an admirer'."

"Who's the inmate?" JJ asked.

"That's the part that... Karl Arnold."

"The fox?" JJ asked, concerned.

"He's back."

"Ok, thanks." JJ said, hanging up the phone.

"Family annihilator, absent father, wedding rings. It's similar," Aaron said.

"To what?" Hudson asked.

"4 years ago, Karl Arnold, aka the fox, killed 8 families," Morgan informed him.

"Just like this case, he took wedding rings, only he took them as trophies," Spencer continued.

"He'd hide in the bushes outside the homes," Morgan finished.

"So, we're working with a copycat here?" Hudson asked.

"It's too early to assume anything," Aaron spoke, shaking his head.

"It could bias the profile," Spencer pointed out.

"Not to mention the police, the media and the military would jump all over it," I added.

"Until we're positive, none of this information leaves the 8 of us," Morgan instructed. "Hotch, you gave evidence at Arnold's trial. I think you should go see him."

"I'd like to take Elizabeth with me," Aaron spoke; I looked up to him.

"Let's go," I said.

"Have Garcia check on all of Arnold's prison correspondence and visitors for the last 4 years," Aaron said before we left.

TBATG

"So why wait a year to send Karl a note, unless they were communicating the whole time?" I asked Aaron as we stood in the elevator at the prison.

"That's the first thing we need to find out. But Karl has a big ego. He's gonna want to answer a question with a question. The first thing he's gonna want to know is why I'm not wearing my wedding ring. And then he will turn his attention to you."

"So that's why you brought me along," I said, mostly to myself.

"Normally I would never ask you to do this but your presence will throw him off guard. Then he's gonna want to describe to you in graphic detail every sexual act he committed with the families."

"To freak me out?" I asked.

"To pull you into his fantasy. Control," Aaron said and we heard the guard tell control to open the door. Aaron put his hand on my shoulder. "Keep your eyes forward," he said and the door opened. The prisoners were hooting, laughing, and catcalling at me as we walked through. "More than anything, he's going to want to see the images of the children."

"We can't give him that," I said matter-of-factly.

"We have to give him something or we'll get nothing from him."

Suddenly there was a banging on a glass cell and I slightly jumped and heard barking, "Isn't that, uh-"

"Garrett Pain. That's reinforced glass." Aaron said.

"Easy for you to say. He tore apart 14 women," I said.

"Open on 15," the guard said and the door opened.

"Hello, Karl," Aaron greeted with a straight face.

"Agent Hotchner. I wasn't informed you were bringing in a, uh..." Karl said and looked at me making my insides twist. "They just said two agents."

"This is agent-"

"Elizabeth...Hotchner. I know all about you," Karl taunted and I felt like I was gonna throw up.

TBATG

"Karl, it appears you have a fan." Aaron said.

"Admirer. Not a fan. Big difference. Right?"

"Is this the first time you've been contacted by your admirer?" I asked.

"I have many fans; even my own website. Don't you?" Karl said looking at Aaron. "You'd be astounded at some of the questions they ask. I make a log of all of them. Would you like to read some?" He asked me.

"I would love to." I said.

"You'd love to?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Here. Look." He said and grabbed his journal, I reached forward to grab it and he leaned in, I see Aaron grab it before I do and put it in my hand and I leaned back.

"Maybe later." I said, putting it down."Your admirer is taking wedding rings, just like you."

"But maybe not for the same reason," Aaron said

"Like how you took all of mine. You took mine. But I see...You lost yours."

"Eight rings, four families. Or was it one ring for each family?" Aaron asked.

"How'd you come to lose your ring?" Karl asked, "Wait, don't tell me, a casualty of the job."

"My job is what put you in here."

"True. But then, it's the children who suffer most. Wouldn't you agree?" Karl asked.

"You'd know more about that than me."

"Which is why you came to me. I can help you with that, Agent Hotchner. I certainly can. But I'll need to see those photos." Karl said and looked at the files. "May I?"

"A word?" I asked.

"Is there a problem, Elizabeth?"

"There's no problem, Karl," Aaron said, I grabbed the files and we left the room.

"We cannot show him these," I said to Aaron.

"These images will be his undoing and our way in."

"But they're not just images," I fought.

"That's exactly what they are."

"We can't use Lucy like that," I told him.

"It's a tradeoff we have to make."

"So, we're using a dead 12-year-old girl in a bathing suit as a bargaining chip? For what?" I asked, my annoyance obvious.

"To him it's not just a photograph. It's much, much more and we need to know what," Aaron said to me.

"Look, I'm... I've never done this before," I reminded him. I was really not comfortable with doing this.

"And you don't have to now," Aaron tells me.

"Yes, I do."

"All right. When I feel he's ready to talk, I'll leave the room. You get him talking. Whatever he does, whatever you feel, Just stay on script. We need to know why he killed those families," Aaron said and we went back inside.

"You want to see, don't you?" Aaron asked him.

"Very much."

"We're gonna show you," Aaron said and I started laying the pictures down. "This is the home of the Downey family. There were three children."

"How old are the children?" Karl asked.

"Twelve, nine and four; a girl and two boys."

"Where were they found?" he asked.

"Over there. Buried." Aaron told him. "Laura, the mother, and the two boys were killed In the house."

"The daughter?"

"This is where the mother and the youngest son were killed," Aaron said. "The other boy was shot in the bedroom closet."

"Where's the father?"

"Overseas," I answered.

"The killer knows this. He knows everything about this family and he watches their every move to be sure he achieves what he needs," Karl chuckled. "You have no idea how he knows the father is gone or how he targets these families, and the how. That's the key. The how...Is why he... " Karl said and looked from me to Aaron. "Was able to catch me."

"You watched the families for days," I said.

"Weeks. I got to know them. But not your guy. He doesn't need weeks. If he did, he'd stay longer."

"Why?" I asked.

"So he can enjoy them. But what I don't understand-"

"Is why he didn't separate the children," Aaron said finishing Karl's thought.

"Exactly. That way you have more control. No room for error."

"Why he didn't put the boys in separate rooms and say, If you cry..." Aaron said.

"I'll have to kill mommy." Karl finished and looked at the picture of Lucy, "Tell me... How did the girl die?"

"She was drowned," Aaron told him.

"Yet the others were shot. May I see her?" He asked reaching for the file but I pulled it away.

"What's so special about the girl?" I asked.

"To suffocate her. To feel the life leave her body means everything to the man who did this."

"To you, maybe, but not to this killer; not in the same way," Aaron said.

"All I did was show them how weak fathers could be. That's all."

"Every child you killed you abused physically," Aaron reminded him.

"For this man, there is no sexual gratification," I told him.

"At least I spared the father's the grief of living."

TBATG

"He's killed again, hasn't he? Luckily for me."

"Luckily?" I asked.

"Now we're alone."

"You stated that the families don't know the killer. Why?" I asked

"Now we wait, right? You and I, see if my...admirer contacts me. He will."

"Yours was one of the first cases I studied," I told him.

"Really?"

"Mm-hmm. I've been fascinated ever since," I said.

"With what?"

"You," I said and he chuckled.

"And now... You want to know what I did...to the children. Don't you?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat, "Yes."

"I can show you. I can show you exactly what I did to them," He said.

"Tell me."

"Children are so precious; so clean. But they need guidance, especially the girls," He said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Girls have much more to lose...than boys. It's a fact the female body can handle pain much better."

"What did you do to them?" I asked not really wanting to know.

"I showed them what men...Their fathers and brothers... are capable of," he said.

"And what is that?"

"You sure you want to know?" he asked me and I felt like I wanted to throw up again.

"Yes."

"Once I killed the children, it always amazed me how little...the father fought the inevitable," Karl said.

"Which was what?" I asked.

"Dying."

TBATG

"Karl, I never thought that you'd be this honest," Aaron said.

"It takes a good woman to make an honest man. And anyway, let's face it- She's prettier than you," Karl said to Aaron looking at me then at him.

"Karl do you know why you killed all those families?" I asked.

"I've already told you why."

"No, you told me how, not why."

"And the reasons why, in this case, are very different than they were for you," Aaron said.

"They're very, very different," I said.

"And as you so eloquently have been pointing out to Agent Elizabeth, all of your motivations were about sex," Aaron said.

"Motivations you learned from your father," I said.

"You really have done your research on me, Elizabeth. I'm flattered."

"You're also filled with feelings of extreme self-hatred," I said.

"It must be distracting working with family, someone so beautiful."

"You forced those men to watch their children die, and here's why, Karl. Here's why you are what you are," I said.

"What I would do to you."

"By killing the fathers last, you were killing your own father, and ultimately yourself, over and over again," I tell him.

"This isn't over, Agent Hotchner," he said and looked at my brother,."At least not for you."

"Wait, Aaron. For Karl, it's all about the fathers. In this case, it's all about the girls. They die last. They're laid out last. None of them are shot. None of them show any signs of sexual motive. What if we applied that logic to these killings?"

"That's something we hadn't considered," Aaron said.

"Why would we? It's so rare."

"What is?" Karl asked.

"The killer's a woman," Aaron said.

"A woman?"

"I'll let Morgan know," I said getting up and leaving the room.

TBATG

"I don't think this woman has anything to do with Karl," Aaron said to me.

"I encouraged him. Oh. I flirted with him," I said putting my hand on my stomach trying not to throw up and I cleared my throat. "Made it personal … getting intimate with a killer is... so different."

"It's what we do," Aaron said.

"Yeah, but...there's no fixing how I feel right now, is there?" I asked and Aaron put a hand on my arm.

"No. But it helped the case, and you did what you had to."

"Agent Hotchner. Before you go, there's one final thing I'd like to share with you," Karl said to him on the monitor.

"Let's just get this over with," I said, I really needed to shower.

TBATG

"So you think you found my admirer; a woman."

"No. We found the killer," I told him.

"With my help, of course," Karl said.

"Your admirer is exactly like everyone who contacts you-lost."

"My love, your guy is far from lost," Karl said.

"We're done," Aaron said.

"So is he," Karl told us and holds up the paper, look at what I have done. "It's quite brilliant, you know?"

"We will find whoever sent you that," Aaron said.

"No, Agent Hotchner, I rather think he's already found you," Karl said.

"Aaron. Aaron." I said to him but he kept flipping through the file.

"I can't believe you can't see what he's doing," Karl said.

"What is going on?" I asked.

"He's torturing him."

"Who?" I asked.

"It's great to see you squirm, Agent Hotchner," Karl said and Aaron flipped through a journal and opened a bunch of a news articles.

"Foyet," I said, my heart sank as I saw the Reapers symbol written on Aaron's face on the article.

Karl started laughing and Aaron slammed the book down and walked out myself right behind him. "He knew you'd come. Ha ha ha ha ha!"


	9. Chapter 9

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **A/N: Okay everyone here is the episode I am going to hate wrinting because my keyboard will be filled with tears. Here's 100.**

 **JJ POV...**

"Please say your name and rank for the record." Strauss said to me

"Supervisory special agent Jennifer Jareau, Communications liaison for the behavioral analysis unit In Quantico, Virginia." I said, nervously speaking into the recorder, my heart was racing for so many reasons

"And how long have you been a member of the bau?"

"6 years." I stated

"Could you speak up, please?" Strauss asked

"Sorry. 6 years."

"And have you worked under agent Hotchner the entire time?" She asked

"No, ma'am. I currently report to acting unit chief Derek Morgan." I said

"Who took over the unit because agent Hotchner's ability to lead the team had become compromised."

"I-i don't believe that's the reason." I told her

"You have a different opinion?"

"It's not just an opinion." I said

"You have a different understanding?"

"Ssa Hotchner voluntarily stepped down so we could continue to do our jobs unhindered." I told her defensively.

"How would you describe agent Hotchner's recent behavior?" She asked me

"Driven."

"Driven. agent Jareau, your entire team is on the line If I cannot reconcile an adequate account of agent hotchner's investigation into George Foyet." Strauss said

"We were all investigating the reaper." I told her, "Ssa Hotchner was not the only one, Especially after he sent us that calling card."

"The newspaper articles he mailed to Karl Arnold."

"2 letters from 2 different locations. They ramped us all back up again. I should just start at the beginning." I said, "Foyet had done a lot of injury to himself In the original string of killings, In an effort to paint himself as a victim and throw us off the investigation. As a result, he became dependent upon a large number of extremely strong medications. We'd been searching the country for patients with that exact prescription combination, But we hadn't had any luck."

 _2 days ago..._

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"There's approximately 115 miles between Fredericksburg and Westminster. Why mail a letter from 2 cities?" JJ asked

"Maybe it's purely a forensic countermeasure. He knows that mailing letters close to home would lead us right to him, so he drives far away to mail the letters to throw us off his scent." Morgan said

"The unabomber did that so did the 2001 anthrax suspect." Spencer said

"He could have gone anywhere, but he's trolling the D.C area."

"It makes sense to stay close to Aaron. He stuck around Boston to watch Shaunessy deteriorate." I said and looked at Aaron, "Not that you're-"

"It's all right. I know he's been watching me. It's part of the reason I stepped down, so he'd think I was falling apart." Aaron said

"Ok, so what are we gonna do about the 2 cities?" JJ asked, "Usually we need 3 different points to get an accurate geographic profile."

"That's all we got right now." Morgan said

"Gaithersburg, Rockville, D.C, Alexandria, Bowie, Annapolis." Emily said

"Where the hell are you, Foyet?" Morgan asked and Garcia came into the room

"Ok, me and the boy found a thyroid medication that has no substitute over the counter. You've gotta get it from a pharmacist but a lot of people are on it." She said setting down a laptop.

"Find the midpoint between the 2 cities and isolate names in a 25-mile radius." Rossi told her

"153 names."

"Well, he's not gonna use his own name. What kind of aliases should we be looking for?" Morgan asked.

"He could have easily stolen someone's identity." I said

"No, he's a narcissist in love with his own mythology. He'd use a name connected with the case." Aaron said

"A victim, maybe, a cop." Rossi said

"Ok. let's check the Foyet files for a list of names. and...nothing." Garcia told us

"Wait a minute, guys. Foyet likes things to have meaning to him." Spencer said standing up and going to the board, "The eye of providence, the addresses in blood he wrote on the bus that led us back to him. Maybe he's doing the same thing with the alias."

"Like an anagram or something." I said and Spencer started mixing around the letters

"You see something, Reid?" Morgan asked

"Not yet."

"Reid, he named himself the reaper." Aaron said and Spencer changed around the letters in the reaper.

"Peter Rhea." Spencer said

"There's a Peter Rhea in Arlington." Garcia said

"We found him." Rossi said

* * *

"How much longer do we wait?" I asked Aaron as we sat in the car watching Foyet's apartment.

"I need to leave that call to someone else."

We headed into the building behind us where the others and the SWAT were at, " _Are you getting the signal?"_

"Copy."

 _"No warm bodies. Looks like kitchen table, chair."_

"Is that a laptop on the table?" Spencer asked

"It could be useful."I said

"Is that food?" Rossi asked, "Get closer to that."

"Wait, go back. What's that on the floor?" Aaron asked

"It's his mail." Morgan said and Aaron grabbed his gun and started running with us shortly after.

"Go, go, go, go!"

We made our way up into the apartment with the under cover agents that were waiting outside. When we reached the apartment Aaron kicked the door open and we file in in with our guns raised looking around.

"What happened?" I asked

"He's not coming back here. He left an untouched meal." Aaron said

"You drop your mail like this when you're startled, when you need to get out of dodge quick." Rossi said

"Something tipped him off he knew we were coming here." Aaron said

"Suitcases are open, some clothes are missing. There's a safe with a stash of guns in it." Mrgan said

"He didn't even bother to lock them up again." JJ said

"If he's in a hurry, he'll make a mistake." Rossi told Aaron

"Yeah, but when Foyet gets cornered, he starts killing."

"We're not gonna let that happen." Morgan said

"We need to get Garcia on this." Emily said and we look at the laptop, it was automatically deleting files.

* * *

 _"He is creepy good."_ Garcia said

"How good?" Spencer asked after he joined us in the apartment.

 _"He wiped his hard drive. Might have been in a hurry to leave, But whatever was on there, he did not want us to see it."_

"Garcia, tell me that you're hacked in and that you can rebuild it." Morgan said

 _"Watch me work, darling. Hello. What have you got? He had an internet alarm on the name peter rhea. It alerted him as soon as we ran a check on it."_

"What else did he wipe?" Aaron asked

"Garcia, wait a minute. Freeze it right there." Morgan said

My heart sank as low as it could go when I saw the image that was in front of me, "Oh, my god, isn't that-" I said, my voice was a little shaky

"That's the u.s. marshal assigned to my family." Aaron said and grabbed his phone

"Foyet's been watching him this whole time?" Emily asked

"Sam, it's Aaron. We found Foyet's location, but he has surveillance photos of you. Call me for a meet location or we're on our way to you." Aaron said and hung up his phone.

"We're gonna need to deploy another swat unit." Morgan pointed out

"That's gonna take another half hour." JJ said

"Hotch?" I heard Rossi say and I saw Aaron leaving the apartment

"Go. go." Morgan told us and we left as well

* * *

We pulled up to the marshal's house and we saw the door was cracked open, Aaron and I were the first one's to get inside and we saw Sam on the floor covered in blood.

"Sam." Aaron said rushing over to him

"This is agent Elizabeth, FBI. We need an ambulance. We have a federal officer down."

"I wouldn't...i wouldn't..." Sam struggled to say

"We're getting an ambulance." Aaron told him

"I tired." Sam said

"Hang on. Just hang on." Aaron tells him and he looks at me then back at Sam

"I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Aaron asked

"I...i tried."

"Are Jack and Haley safe?" Aaron asked and Sam starts breathing hard, "Sam, tell me what happened."

"I don't know how he got in."

"Sam, I need to understand. Does he know where jack and Haley are?" Aaron asked desperately

"I didn't..." Sam said, the others came into the house and I could hear the ambulance arriving outside

"I-i tried, Hotch." Sam said still breathing hard

The EMTs come inside and both me and Spencer look at them

"Gunshot wounds to each leg, one foot, He's missing several fingers, and appears to be badly beaten." Spencer told them and I started to bite on my nail.

"Clear out of the way." The female EMT told Aaron,

"Get me a c-collar, prep me a saline drip while I grab a round of vitals." the male EMT instructed to the woman, "Sam, are you allergic to any medication?" He asked him

"Hotch."

"Sam, I'm right here." Aaron said

"I tried."

"Make sure they have a trauma surgeon standing by." The male EMT said

* * *

The EMT prepped Sam and got him into the ambulance, "Is he conscious?" Aaron asked the female EMT standing at the back doors of the ambulance.

"In and out."

"Sam, it's Aaron. Can you hear me?" Aaron asked climbing into the ambulance and they shut the doors and drove off.

 _2 Days later..._

I sat outside the briefing room nervously tapping my foot while biting my nail, Spencer had gone in before me, just then the door opened and Anderson stepped out, "They're ready for you." He said and Spencer walked out giving me a small smile and put his hand on my arm giving it a light squeeze as he walked by.

"Agent Elizabeth Hotchner." Strauss said to me

"Ma'am."

"We understand that agent Aaron Hotchner managed to separate himself from the rest of the team." She stated

"He didn't "manage" to do that. When marshal Kassmeyer was in the ambulance-"

"Agent Hotchner volunteered to ride along." Strauss said cutting me off.

"To get answers before he lost consciousness." I told her

"Why didn't you go with him?"

"It didn't seem necessary." I said

"Did he tell you that?"

"Is that what you're looking for?" I asked defensively, "A way to blame this on him? What good could that possibly do?" I asked and clenched my jaw

"Agent Hotchner was looking for an opportunity to separate himself from the team and he found one." Strauss said, _Really?_

"That isn't true."

"He was desperate and he didn't want someone with a clear head to stop him." Strauss said jumping to conclusions

"Is there a question in there somewhere?" I asked her, it came out a lot snappier then I intended, but when someone make assumptions about your family what else can you do?

"Tell me what happened while agent Hotchner was in the ambulance."

"We contacted the u.s. marshals. They said Haley was in the wind. She had dumped her cell phone, so there was no way to track her." I pointed out

"And how did agent Hotchner react to that news?" She asked

"How do you think he reacted?" I asked

 _2 Days Ago..._

 _"Foyet called Haley from Kassmeyer's phone."_ Aaron said on Morgan's phone

"All right, we'll get Garcia to trace it." Morgan said and looked at JJ, "JJ."

 _"He told her she was compromised and I was dead."_

"Well, have you called her?" I asked

 _"No. He said to throw her phone away and to buy a disposable."_

"Hotch, we're gonna come get you right now." Morgan told him

 _"No, Anderson's bringing me a car."_

"You want to meet back at the office?" Morgan asked

 _"I'm hoping that she's just gonna call me, at least, to check."_

"Foyet posed as a marshal, even called from a number that Haley recognized." Morgan pointed out

"And then he did what gets him off. He scared her." Rossi told us

"No, he paralyzed her, he overwhelmed her." Emily said

"And now she trusts him. Where do you think he would take her?" Spencer asked

"Witness protection had her living in New Jersey." I tell them

"He has a head start. He could be there now." Spence said

"Garcia's got a trace." JJ said walking up to us.

 _"He's bouncing between a few towers."_ Garcia said

 _"Where?"_ Aaron asked

 _"Fairfax county."_

"He's still local?" JJ asked

 _"Send the coordinates to my phone."_ Aaron told her

 _"Done."_

"Why isn't he on his way to New Jersey?" JJ asked

"Wait, that phone's on?" I asked Garcia

 _"Yes."_

"Aaron?" Nothing

 _"He hung up."_

"Damn it." I said then we hear a beeping, "What's that?"

 _"Hotch is calling Foyet."_

 _"Agent Hotchner."_ Foyet said

 _"If you touch her..."_

 _"Be gentle, like I was with you?"_ Foyet said and I felt my blood boil, I feel Spencer grab a hold of my hand, I looked at him then back at the others. I may not have told Spencer how I feel yet but just having him try to comfort mr was enough. " _What the hell took you so long? I was beginning to think this phone was dead or something."_ He said and there was silence, _"Why so quiet? You usually lash out when you're frustrated."_

 _"I'm not frustrated. You're more predictable than you think."_ Aaron told him

 _"Am I?"_

 _"You didn't know where Haley was, so you made her come to you."_ Aaron pointed out to him

 _"You make me sound lazy."_ Foyet said

 _"Just another way for you to show control."_

 _"Oh, that's terrible."_ Foyet said sarcastically

 _"You're mother tried to protect you from your father, but she wasn't strong enough and you hated her for that, didn't you? You decided that all women were weak."_

 _"Those are your words, not mine."_ Foyet says

 _"What were you, 9 when you killed them?"_ Aaron asked

 _"It was a car accident."_

 _"That you couldn't take credit for. That had to be hard for you. But poor George got another chance. The little orphan was saved by the wealthy, sterile eastside couple, the Foyets. And the story should have ended there."_ Aaron said

 _"I don't believe in fairy tales. do you?"_ Foyet asked him

 _"That's the thing, George. This isn't a fairy tale. You don't have to write this story. You don't have to do any of this. I know you're exhausted. Always looking over your shoulder, Always wondering when the other shoe is gonna drop. Haven't you gotten what you wanted? You've set yourself apart from anybody we've ever dealt with. You're not just a famous serial killer, you're the reaper. We're gonna study you and your methods for years and years."_

 _"You know what I've been thinking? Haley looks pretty good with dark hair. She's lost some weight. Must be all the stress you caused her. Where's the little man?"_ Foyet said and I unintentionally squeezed Spencer's hand _, "Oh. there he is. Does he like captain America because of you?"_ Foyet said and a phone rings on his end, _"That's your wife. Hold, please."_ Foyet paused, _"Mrs. Hotchner."_

 _"I'm here."_ I hear Haley say

 _"Open the gate and I'll drive in."_ Foyet said to her, _Wait a minute. Gate?_

 _"Ok."_ Haley said and hung up

 _"Aaron? I really gotta go."_ Foyet said and hung up

"All right, Foyet has to be in control. He had Haley come to him." Morgan said

"Yeah, but where would he take her?" Spence asked

"He'd want Hotch to find him, to see where he was, to see what he did." JJ pointed out

"He said something on that call that tells Hotch where to go." Rossi stated

"Reid, what did he say, exactly?" Morgan asked

"Haley's hair looks good dark. She's lost some weight. it must be because of all the stress you caused her. Where's the little man? Oh, there he is now does he like captain America because of you? that's your wife on the other line. hold, please. Hi. open the gate and I'll drive in." Spencer said

"Open the gate?"

"It would be someplace with the biggest emotional impact for Hotch." Emily said

"And Haley has access to the gate." Morgan said and it clicked in my brain.

"Their house, where they lived together." I said

"Of course. Foyet planned this all the way to the end. It's everything to him." Emily mentioned

"He wants to take over Hotch's home to be in control to prove his dominance." Morgan said grabbing his phone and we headed out.

* * *

 _"Morgan."_ Aaron said answering the phone.

"He's going to your house."

"I know." Aaron said

"I'm sending out a full tactical deployment Hotch." Morgan tells him

"Good."

"We're on our way." Morgan said and Aaron hung up

 _"Foyet's calling hotch."_ Garcia tells us

"Garcia, can you get us on?" Morgan asked her

 _"Foyet."_ Aaron said

 _"Aaron?"_ I hear Haley ask _"You're ok?"_

 _"I'm fine."_

 _"But...He said that..."_ Haley said and there was a pause, _"Oh, Aaron."_

 _"He can hear us, right?"_ Aaron asked her

 _"Yes. I am so sorry."_ Haley said

 _"Haley, show him no weakness, No fear."_ Aaron told her

 _"I know. Sam told me all about him. Is he, uh-"_

 _"No, Sam is fine."_

 _"Aaron, Aaron, Aaron. Is that why your marriage broke up, because you're a liar?"_ Foyet asked.

 _"Don't listen to him, Haley."_

 _"I have Sam's service phone right here. They sent out a mass text about his death. You can take a look if you want."_ Foyet said

 _"He's trying to scare you."_

 _"Did you even tell her what this was about? About the deal?"_ Foyet asked Aaron

 _"He's just trying to make you angry."_

 _"Well, she should be. She's gonna... D-I-E Because of your inflated ego."_ Foyet said, _He spelled it out, that must mean._

"Oh god" I whispered, Spencer who was sitting next to me heard me and grabbed my hand again.

 _"Ignore him, Haley."_

 _"I'm sure you don't want her to know this part either. You know, all he had to do was stop looking for me and you wouldn't be in this mess."_ Foyet told her

 _"Don't react._

 _"What is he talking about?"_ Haley asked

 _"Tell Jack I need him working the case."_ Aaron said

 _"What?"_ Haley asked him confused

 _"Tell jack I need him working the case."_ Aaron said and Haley cleared her thoat

 _"Jack, did you hear that?"_

 _"Hi, daddy."_ I hear Jack say and I closed my eyes fighting the tears and squeezed Spencers hand.

"It'll be okay." He whispered to me.

 _"Hi, buddy."_

 _"Is George a bad guy?"_ Jack asked

 _"Yes, he is. Jack, I need you on this case with me. Do you understand? I need you to work the case with me."_

 _"Ok, daddy."_

 _"Jack, hug your mom for me."_ Aaron said and there was a pause

 _"Mommy hug me too tight."_ Jack said

 _"I'm sorry."_

 _"Why are you sad?"_ Jack asked her

 _"Oh, I just love you so much."_

 _"Mommy, I gotta go. I'm working the case."_ Jack says to her

 _"Ok."_

 _"He's so cute. He's like a little junior g-man. I'll be right up, jackie boy!"_ I hear Foyet say and I clenched my jaw.

 _"Is he gone?"_ Aaron asked her

 _"Yes."_

 _"You're so strong, Haley. You're stronger than I ever was."_ Aaron tells her

 _"You'll hurry, right?"_ She asked

 _"I know you didn't sign on for this."_

 _"Neither did you."_ She pointed out

 _"I'm sorry for everything."_ Aaron said

 _"Promise me that you will tell him how we met and how you used to make me laugh."_

 _"Haley..."_ Aaron started to say

 _"He needs to know that you weren't always so serious, Aaron. I want him to believe in love, because it is the most important thing. But you need to show him. Promise me."_

 _"I promise."_ Aaron said and there were 3 gun shots, I closed my eyes and felt Spencer pull me towards him into a hug, I couldn't help it I just let the tears fall, I also felt JJ grab my hand.

* * *

We arrived at the house and saw that Aaron had beat us there, I quickly got out and ran inside, I walked around looking for Aaron when Spencer and I arrived at his old office.

"I work the case daddy, just like you said." Jack said

"You did a great job, buddy."

"What happened to you, daddy?" Jack asked him

"I'm ok. I want you to go outside with Auntie Elizabeth ok?" Aaron told him and I bent down.

"Come here, sweetheart." I said and picked him up, I held him to me and we left the house. He was sitting in the back of the SUV we drove here and I was standing in front of him, "Are you okay buddy?" I asked him.

"Is my mommy okay?" He asked and I looked up holding in tears then I looked at him and sat down next to him.

"No hunny, she's not." I said.

"Where is she?" He asked, how was I going to tell my 4 year old nephew that his mom was dead? Was I even allowed to? Or do I let Aaron do it?

"Remember the dog I used to have?" I asked him and he nodded his head, "Remember how..he got very sick and I told you he went to a special place?" he nodded his head again, and I pulled him into my lap, "Well that's where your mommy is. She's in that special place playing with Dodger." I said and he stayed quiet, I see a gurney being wheeled out of the house followed by another one, then Aaron, Spencer, and the others. I motioned for Spencer to come over and had him sit with Jack and I walked up to Aaron who was standing next to one of the gurneys, I knew it was Haley.

"I'm so sorry Aaron," I said and I put my hand on his shoulder.

"Where's Jack?"

"He's sitting in the back of the SUV with Spencer," I told him and I looked at the gurney, "He asked me where his mom was. I'm sorry Aaron I...I told him in a gentle way where she was."

"What did you say?"

"I told him that she was...in that special place Dodger went to when he got sick." I said and he continued looking at the gurney, "I'm sorry I was trapped and I didn't want to lie to him but I-" I started to say but was cut off when Aaron hugged me.

"It's ok. Thank you."

"I am so sorry big brother." I said and I felt tears burn my eyes.

"We need to take them away now." The coroner said to us.

I pulled away from Aaron and looked at the gurney, "Can I have a minute?" I asked and the guy nodded his head, I gave once last look to Aaron and he walked away. I put my hand on Haley's and fought the tears, "I am so sorry Haley. You were the best sister I could ever ask for, and I promise you I will take care of Jack, and Aaron. I love you." I said and nodded to the coroner. He wheeled her body away and I wiped the tears from my eyes, I felt a hand on my shoulder, I turned around half expecting to see Spencer standing there, but I saw Emily and JJ standing there instead. They pulled me into a hug and I once again let the tears fall, they both rubbed my back as I looked at Aaron sitting with Jack.

* * *

We all sat around the round table as Aaron did his briefing, Jack was sitting on my lap when Aaron walked in, Jack got up off my lap and ran over to his dad. We all just stood there and watched as they hugged each other.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Beauty and the Geek**

We walked through the cemetery following Haley's casket that Morgan, Rossi, Kevin, Anderson and Will were carrying, I was walking next to Aaron holding Jack's hand, they put the casket down and moved back. I was standing next to Spencer just slightly behind Aaron with Jack standing in front of me, my hand was on his shoulder and Spencer held my hand. Even though I had just lost my best friend, Spencer holding my hand was very distracting, leading up to today he would call me at least twice a day to make sure I was okay, I of course lied to him, I was horrible, I was hurting, Haley was my friend, my sister, the mother of my amazing nephew. Garcia, JJ, and Emily too asked me if I was doing okay and if I needed anything, I was staying with Aaron and Jack for a few days, helping with the funeral, and helping Aaron out with Jack while he moved Jack's stuff into his apartment.

"W.S. Gilbert wrote, "It's love that makes the world go 'round." And if that's true, then the world spun a little faster with Haley in it. Haley was my best friend since we were in high school. We certainly had our struggles, But if there's one thing we agreed on unconditionally, It was our love and commitment to our son jack. Haley's love for jack was joyous and fierce. That fierceness is why she isn't here today. A mother's love is an unrivaled force of nature. And we can all learn much from the way Haley lived her life. Haley's death causes each of us to stop and take stock of our lives." Aaron read to us amd I looked at Spencer for a brief moment, I wanted so badly to tell him how I felt, JJ, Emily and Garcia kept asking me if I was ever going to, I told them I can't, everything screamed at me to do it, but my heart held me back, "To measure who we are and what we've become. I don't have all those answers for myself, but I know who Haley was. She was the woman who died protecting the child we brought into this world together. And I will make sure that Jack grows up knowing who his mother was and how she loved and protected him and how much I loved her. If Haley were with us today, she would ask us not to mourn her death but to celebrate her life. She would tell us..." He paused and took a breath, "She would tell us to love our families unconditionally..." He said with his voice breaking a little bit, "And to hold them close, because in the end, they are all that matter. I met Haley at the tryouts Of our high school's production of "the Pirates of Penzance." he said and I smiled a little, I remember that day all to well, it was also the day I met my best friend, "I found our copy of the play and was looking through it the other night, and I came upon a passage that seemed...appropriate for this moment. "oh, dry the glistening tear that dews that martial cheek. Thy loving children hear, in them thy comfort seek. With sympathetic care their arms around thee creep, for, oh, they cannot bear to see their father weep." Aaron finished and we all placed our roses on Haley's casket, I started to walk away, I saw Spencer waiting for me at the car and I turned around and looked at Aaron and Jack, I saw Jack blow a kiss and I felt tears in my eyes again as I walked over to the cars.

TBATG

I was sitting at a table with Morgan, Emily, JJ, Will, Garcia, Kevin, and Spencer who was sitting next to me, we see Rossi walking down the steps with 2 glasses in his hand with Aaron following him, I gave Aaron a small smile as they walked by.

"What do we do?" Emily asked turning back around

"There's nothing we can do. We just gotta wait him out." Morgan told her

"You think he'll ever come back?" Spencer asked him

"Would you?" JJ asked

"He'll come back. I just don't know what he's gonna look like when he does."

"We just need to be there for him when he's ready." I said and I turned to look at Jessica, Haley's sister, standing there with Jack by the food. He looked like he was picking at it not wanting to eat, the days I was staying with Aaron sometimes Jack would sleep in Aaron's bed and sometimes he would come sleep in mine, I would just lay there and hold him until he fell asleep and I just layed there looking at the ceiling, I havent been able to sleep for the past few days, seeing Haley laying there dead still haunted me.

Suddenly Morgan's cell phone rings, "They can't be calling us in, not tonight."

"I'm on it." JJ said and grabbed her phone

"We can't go." Emily told him

"We have to. I'll get Rossi." Morgan said and got up

"Talk to strauss, tell her to send another team." Spencer told JJ

"There's no other team available. Nashville's calling us in. Second body in 2 weeks, both killed on consecutive friday nights. They realize they're up against the clock and they're hoping we might find something they didn't." JJ said and we all started to get up, "Elizabeth." She said and I faced her, "Strauss would understand if you didn't go, I can talk to her."

"No it's okay, I need to distract myself. I'm gonna go say bye to Jack real quick though." I told her and she put her hand on my arm and walked away while I walked over to Jack.

 **Spencer's POV...**

I started to walk up the stairs when I turned and saw Elizabeth bent down in front of Jack talking to him, she had been through a lot these past couple of days, I tried to be there for her but at the same time give her space.

"Hey kid." Morgan said and walked up to me, his eyes moved to where I was looking, "I know there has been a lot going on lately, but I'm sure she really appriciates you being there for her."

"I just wish there was more I could do." I said and saw Elizabeth give Jack a hug.

"You're already doing it." He said and put his hand on my shoulder.

"I wish I could tell her how I feel Morgan."

"And you should, not right now, but you should when the time is right." He said and I looked at him.

"It's hard, she's so beautiful, strong and carefree but I would stand no chance with her."

"That's not true kid, yes she may be beautiful but don't let that stop you, you would never know what will happen unless you try." He said and walked away, I looked back at Elizabeth, she was heading towards me when she stopped and looked at Hotch.

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I just got done saying goodbye to Jack and was heading back towards the steps, I looked over at Aaron who looked over at me.

 _"I love you."_ I mouthed to him and he nodded his head.

 _"Love you too."_ He mouthed back and I headed up the stairs.

TBATG

"Two women dead in two weeks, both killed in their own homes, and no sign of forced entry. Floors were covered in rose petals." JJ said to us as we sat on the jet looking through the files.

"Quite the romantic." Rossi said "Evidence of sexual assault?"

"None. Both women were last seen leaving their offices on a Friday and never showed up to work on a Monday."

"It's Thursday, why are we only being called in now?" Morgan asked her

"The second body was only found yesterday."

"There may be a socio-economic pattern emerging. The first victim, Bethany Heminger, lived in Belle Meade, Melissa Johnson in Brentwood. Both are affluent neighborhoods." Spencer said

"Yet there was nothing missing from either home." Rossi said matter-of-facterly

"What did these women do for a living?" I asked JJ

"Bethany was a defense attorney, Melissa a corporate executive."

"Two brunettes with similar features In high-powered professions? That's not a coincidence." Emily pointed out

"These women most likely represent someone he knows." Rossi said

"All right, so we need to figure out where this unsub Is meeting his victims and how he's gaining access to their homes. And if he's staying on pattern, most likely this guy has picked out his next target." Morgan told us

"We should check gardeners, housekeeping staff, pool attendants, floral shops, see if anyone worked both homes." Rossi says

"Start working up a paper trail, Garcia. Find out where these women were in the days leading up to each murder." Morgan told her.

 _"Like a genie in a bottle-poof!"_ She said and hung up, and I lightly chuckled.

"All right. Prentiss, you and I are gonna go check out the Johnson crime scene. Rossi, you and Reid talk to the coroner, start working up victimology. Jj, Elizabeth talk to the families and staff and find a connection we can use. I understand that all of our thoughts are with Hotch. But right now, I need us all to focus on this case. We have less than a day before this unsub will strike again. Let's finish this thing fast." Morgan said and put a hand on my shoulder, I smiled at him and looked back at the file.

TBATG

"You must be the FBI. Landon kaminski." The detective said and JJ shakes his hand

"Agent jareau. We spoke on the phone." She said, "This is Agent Elizabeth Hotchner." the detective shakes my hand.

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you. The mayor's on my ass. Two prominent women killed on my watch and everyone knows we're bracing for a third." He said to us

"Well, let's hope that doesn't happen. Where would you like us to set up?"

"In here." Landon said to us and we started to follow him.

"I'm gonna need to issue a statement with the press. Every woman in Nashville needs to know there's a serial killer on the loose. We need them taking preventative measures to avoid becoming his next target." JJ told him

"The mayor thinks we should be as specific as possible." Landon said

"Every woman, detective. His first 2 victims may be from the same social class, But if we isolate victimology this soon, It may cause him to go outside of his own comfort zone, And then he'll be even harder to track. Better to stress hypervigilance And shut down his victim pool completely, Don't you think?" JJ asked him

"Yes, ma'am."

TBATG

"Find anything?" Rossi asked as him and Spencer walked into the room

"Several people had access to each home. Housekeeper, gardener, pool cleaner, dog walker, each with their own key and an alibi to match." I said and Spencer walked around the table sitting next to me.

"Any cross-over?" Rossi asked

"None. We even vetted delivery people and utility workers." JJ told him

"Garcia, do you have anything?" Spence asked her

 _"There's no hits on the prints at all, But I did what sir Derek there asked and I created a paper trail. There's no cross-over between the two victims themselves In the wee leading up to their murders, but they did run in similar circles."_

"How do you mean?" Rossi asked her, Emily and Morgan joined us at this point.

 _"They both have country club memberships, though to different clubs. They went to upscale restaurants, private concert venues, posh hotels. They enjoyed a high-class, highfalutin lifestyle, an expensive one."_

"A lifestyle he'd fit right into. This guy is educated, intelligent, proper. He's a downright gentleman." Emily said and sat down.

"The rose petals sent a pretty specific message. He's romancing them whether they want it or not. He's got the social skills to back it up." Morgan pointed out

"Hey, Garcia, take a look at dating services and social networking sites. Look for working professionals and privileged elite." Spencer told her

 _"Check, check, and checkers. Back in a smidge."_ She said and hung up.

"We need more." Morgan told us

"Have we figured out how he's getting into these homes?" I asked

"No sign of forced entry anywhere. Yet he's still gaining access to their homes long before the victims ever get home from work. I mean, this guy needs time to cook And set up his scene. He's either got a key or he can move through walls." Morgan said.

"We need fresh eyes." Rossi uttered

"All right, listen up. I want everybody to go back to the hotel and try to get some rest. We're gonna have to pick this up again in the morning." Morgan told us

"We're giving up?" I asked

"No. we're gonna take a break. We have to give the profile at morning roll and none of us has slept since the funeral. Once Garcia can get us a paper trail, Then we can expand our canvass. Till then there's really not a lot we can do." Morgan said

TBATG

We headed back to the hotel and once I got my pj's on there was a knock at my door, I looked through the peep hole and saw Spencer standing there.

"Hey."

"Hi, I was just stopping by to see how you were doing." He said and I stepped aside and he came in.

"I'm okay, or well trying to be at least, I keep thinking about Jack and Aaron." I told him and sat down on the edge of my bed, Spencer sat in the chair across from me.

"I know you are going through a hard time right now but I'm always here if you need me." He said and I smiled

"Thank you Spencer, it's meant a lot to me that you have been here for me through all this." I said

"Well I should probably let you get to sleep." Spencer said and stood up.

I let out a small chuckle, "I haven't slept well the past couple of days." I said and he sat down next to me.

"Why not?"

"Everytime I close my eyes I see Haley's body, and I know it's probably just the grief but I also keep imagining what would have happened if Foyet got Jack and Aaron too, I just...can't close my eyes without those images popping into my brain." I told him and Spencer grabbed mmy hand and I looked at him with tears in my eyes.

"You can't let your mind go to those places, the average human needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep at night, children and teens n-" He said and looked at me, "You probably don't need facts right now." He said and I shook my head giving a small smile, "Well either way, you should try and rest." He said and stood up.

"Spence." I said and he stopped, "I know this may be weird and feel free to say no if you would feel uncomfortable but would you mind staying with me? At least until I fell asleep." I said and he looked at me.

"Um..sure" He told me and walked over to the chair.

"Spence, you can lay in the bed too, I won't bite." I told him, _Unless you want me to. Not the time woman._ I thought to myself and noticed Spencer looking at me still, _Great I made him uncomfortable._ Before I could tell him it was just a thought he rested his cane against the bedside table, took his shoes off and laid down next to me. I'm not gonna lie my heart was racing extremely fast right now and all I could think about was wanting to kiss him, it took an internal battle not to, finally exhaustion took over and I felt myself fall asleep.

"Good night Liz." I hear Spencer say and I don't know if I imagined it or not but I thought I felt him kiss my head.

TBATG

"We believe our unsub is already with his next victim. If he matches pattern, she'll be a successful woman, probably brunette, early 30s to mid-40s"." Rossi said to the Police force. "She'll be at home in nashville's upper echelon." Rossi added

"This means that he fits in. he drives the right car, he wears the right clothes, he's highly intelligent. He probably comes from a place of status." Spencer said, when I woke up this morning he was gone, all I could think was I made him uncomortable by asking him to lay in my bed, so all this morning I've been kind of giving him his space.

"This guy's sociable, and he's endearing. You would never suspect that this man is capable of murder. But he will do whatever it takes to protect the fantasy that he's trying to relive.

"It's this fantasy which fuels his drive. He's recreating a romantic evening And repeating it with each of his victims." Rossi said

"He most likely recently had a relationship taken away from him. So look at men who have lost loved ones or have gone through a messy divorce." Morgan implied

"Like bundy, These women are representations of that first loss. Bundy picked victims who had similar features to the woman that abandoned him, and we believe that our unsub is doing the exact same thing."

"These women were confident, successful, and strong, and they fought back. Which means he has the ability to overpower them fairly easily." I said and out the corner of my eye I see Spencer look at me

"He believes or fantasizes he's in a relationship with these woman. No matter how fleeting the initial interaction is, It's everything to him. An invitation."

"Our technical analyst has compiled a list of locations that the victims visited prior to their death. These are high-class establishments. We're going to want to visit the same places." Spence tld them

"So, look for men who fit the profile, but also women who match victimology. If somebody's been paying a little too much attention to them, talk to them. Get a read, then jot their name down so that we can check them out." Morgan said

"All right, folks, pick up your canvassing assignments and get to work." Landon told

"Thank you." Morgan said and everyone walked away, I headed over to the coffee machine.

"So, what's going on?" I hear JJ ask from behind me and I turned to face her.

"What do you mean?" I asked confused

"Oh come on I felt the awkwardness between you and Spence when I walk in here today."

I looked over at Spencer who was looking at the board then looked back at JJ, "Last night he came to my room to ask how I was doing, after we talked he was about to leave but I asked him if he would stay with me." I said and she looked at me with a smirk, "No not like that, I told him I haven't been sleeping well the past few days so he stayed with me until I fell asleep. The weird thing is though, is that after I started to fall asleep I swear I thought I felt him kiss my head." I told and she shook her head.

"You need to stop being a chicken and tell him how you feel." She said and walked away.

TBATG

"House belongs to an Erika Silverman, Project director in an international design firm. We're assuming the male victim Is her boyfriend Grant Franklin." Landon said as we walked to the house of the lastest victim

"Male victim?" Spence asked him

"Mm-hmm. they're both pretty beat up. We'll need dental records for a positive i.d."

"Who called it in?" Rossi asked him

"Ups guy, needed her to sign for a package, the door was wide open. We got him out back."

"JJ, talk to him." Morgan told her and she left

"Where's erika silverman's body?" Rossi asked

TBATG

"He changed his m.o. multiple stab wounds to the face and neck." Landon told me and Rossi as we looked at the victim

"Classic overkill." Rossi pointed out

"And evidence that she had sex before she died."

"Forced or consensual?" I asked holding a newspaper in my hand

"No evidence of sexual assault."

"She played along. She had sex with the unsub because she thought it would keep her alive." I said and put the paper down

"So why didn't it? This kill is personal, angry. She didn't give him everything that he wanted." Rossi says

"What else does he want?" I asked

 **Spencer POV...**

"The dinner dishes are washed, but the breakfast plates aren't." Morgan said looking in the sink then walked over to me

"He didn't clean up this time."

"The boyfriend must have surprised him and disrupted his routine." Morgan pointed out and we made our way down the hall

"I don't know, I'd say he came pretty close to finishing it. It looks like they watched a movie, had an early breakfast. She was with him all night." I said, I wish I would have stayed with Elizabeth all night, I laid there and watched her fall asleep, I made a bold move and kissed her head and when I did I got a whiff of her conditioner which was coconut scented, I love that smell on her whenever she stands close to me, she stirred a little bit but stayed asleep. I didn't know how it would have gone if I would have stayed the whole night, a part of me probably would have tried to pull her into my arms, she was so peaceful and beautiful, all I could think about was wanting to kiss those lips, finally I was snapped out of my thoughts when Morgan stepped in front of me.

"What's going on kid?"

"What?" I asked him

"You have been in your own head space all morning and don't think I didn't notice the tension between you and Elizabeth." He said and I sighed.

"I stayed in her room last night." I said and he clapped his had on my back.

"Did you finally make a move?"

"What? No, no it wasn't like that. I went to check on her and she mentioned that she hasn't slept well the past couple days and asked if I would stay with her until she fell asleep." I told him and he smirked.

"So then how did go this morning?"

"I-i'm not sure, I left about an hour after she fell asleep." I told him and he shook his head.

"Kid you gotta stop being so nervous with her, what harm could come from telling her how you feel?" He asked me.

"She could reject me and then it would make things awkward on the team."

"You'll never know until you try." He said and walked away, I saw Rossi, Elizabeth and Ladon come back down stairs so I headed to the garage.

TBATG

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"There has to be something in the victimology." Morga said flipping through a file

"If Grant Franklin hadn't come home when he did, Erika would probably still be alive. So how did the unsub miss him?" Emily asked and I flipped through another file.

"It says he was out of town last week visiting family in Indianapolis." I told her

"Still, the violence of those kills Indicates he knew both victims."

" 'cause the longer victims are with the killer, the more desperate the attack. The unsub stabbed erika silverman 17 times in the face, Grant franklin 34 times to the face and genitals." Rossi said

"It makes sense. The more he perfects his routine, The more invested he becomes." Spencer added

"Detective kaminski, have your men had any luck canvassing the victims' last known whereabouts?" Morgan asked him

"None. I'm thinking of pulling them off for the night." Landon answered

"That's a mistake."

"Why is that? The vic's dead. If he sticks to the pattern, We've got another week before he strikes again." Landon told us

"Because he's never gotten this far before. He's desperate to ay out his fantasy. A man like this isn't gonna stick to any timetable. He's gonna try to finish this tonight." Rossi informed him

"JJ, we need you on the news. Narrow victimology. Let people know that he's out there right now." Morgan told her

"I'm on it." She said and left

"We still don't know where he's finding his victims." I said

"But we do know that Erika Silverman lived in Green Hills." Spencer said standing up and walking over to the TV, "That's 3 points and we finally have our geographical comfort zone. It's a good bet the unsub lives somewhere In this area, and Erika is our key to figuring out where they met."

TBATG

"Garcia's got something." JJ said

 _"I'm a real genius 'cause this is what I did I took the travel logs from the GPS systems, overlaid their routes against the geographical profile to reveal what the paper trail could not."_

"Which was?" I asked

 _"While Erika Silverman is the only victim who didn't visit a private club, a concert, or go to a fancy restaurant in the days leading upo her death, She did spend a couple of hours at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens on Tuesday."_

"Garcia, did either of the other victims go to the park?" Spencer asked her

 _"No."_

"I don't know if it's relevant, then."

"It is when her navigation system reads in a straight line. To work, back home, to work, back home. I don't think she ever left her house. She even had her groceries delivered." Garcia said

"What washe doing on Tuesday?" Spence asked

"Let's find out." I said

TBATG

"As you can see, the park attracts a variety of patrons. Older couples, walkers, tour groups. We'll hold an occasional wedding or concert sers on our upper lawn." The guide told us as we walked down the steps of the garden

"Did you have any events here past Tuesday?" Spencer asked her and she looked at her phone

"Tuesday. oh, we had a corporate fund-raiser Between 4:00 and 7:00."

"That's when Erika Silverman was here." JJ pointed out

"An event up here would be a hard sell for women in heels." I inputed, thank god I wore boots today

"Well, most of our private events hire valets to drive the cars down to the base of the park so they don't have to hike it up the hill."

"Who has access to your keys but goes unseen?" Spencer asked me and JJ

"And to your GPS." JJ added

"Dealerships program your home address into thnavigation system Before your car even leaves the lot. He had turn by turn directions straight to her front door And the keys to get him inside" I told them

TBATG

 _"Culpepper valet company handled the fund-raiser on Tuesday, and...the same company had contracts with the hotel lounge Bethany Heminger frequented and the country club Melissa Johnson was a member at."_ Garcia informed us.

"That's our connection." Spencer said

"JJ, get Rossi and Prentiss to pick up the owner." Morgan said to her

"Right away." and she left

"All right, baby girl, talk to me. I need employee records and a list of venues that Culpepper contracted out to this weekend."

 _"Oh, sug, check your email. It hit your inbox 60 seconds ago."_ she said

"Thanks, penelope." Morgan said and I shook my head then she hung up

"All right, culpeer contracted out to 3 venues This weekend, 2 today." Spencer pointed out

"We might be able to catch this guy in action." Morgan said

"Unless he's already with another victim." I told them

TBATG

"The manager said Belser picked up a shift at the Vonner Street Lounge." Rossi said

 _"Yeah, we're headed there right now."_ Spencer said over the speaker phone

"Ok." Emily hung up her phone "SWAT's gonna meet us at Belser's apartment."

 _"Garcia, did you find anything else on Belser?"_ JJ asked

 _"Ok. He attended southern charleston preparatory academy on scholarship his parents died in a boating accident 6 years ago. Belser lost his inheritance in the stock market, And since then, he has been racking up debt Faster than he can pay it off. He was engaged to society magazine editor Rose Smith until 6 weeks ago...when it was called off. And the chapel was already paid for."_

"So he spent his entire savings trying to live in the world of his fiancee." Morgan pointed out

"She was his lifeline the society he'd grown up in." Morgan said

 _"Only to have her leave him and wind up penniless."_ Landon added

 _"Hey, garcia, I don't suppose Belser's car has a lo-jack system on it, does it?"_ Reid asked

 _"No. no such luck, boy wonder. Need potential victims' names."_

 _"Ok. We'll get back to you."_

 _TBATG_

"FBI! open up!" Morgan said as we arrived at the unsub's apartment

"Joe Belser, FB! If you're in there, identify yourself!" I said, still no answer so they busted through the dorr and we headed inside and started sweeping the place

"It's clear here."

"Clear." Emily said from another room

"Hey, uh, I think I found the meaning of the rose petals." I said and held up a catalog

"Look at these." Rossi said holding up garage door openers.

"Garage door openers?" Morgan asked

"Universal garage door openers. This solves the problem of having to copy the key. Some drivers are smart enough to use a valet key, but no one thinks to take a garage door opener with them." Rossi added

"That's how he got into Melissa Johnson's house. We only found prints on the interior garage door. We thought it was from he moved the dog into the garage." Emily said

"People rarely think to lock a door that lies beyond another locked door." Rossi said and grabbed his phone, "Reid. he's not here."

TBATG

We arrived at Ann Herran's house and heard screaming when Morgan busted through the door, we saw the unsub standing above her holding a knife.

"FBI! Put it down!"Morgan yelled and I walked over and kicked him in the stomach knocking him down

"Uhh!"

"It's ok. You're gonna be ok." Rossi said to the woman

"Fantasy's over. Is that what you did to them? You hit them to shut them up and then forced them to play along with your sick delusion?" I asked kneeling over the guy

"I love them."

"You're finally gonna meet your soul mate, Joe. In prison. Only you're not gonna be able to push him around the way you did those women. And when he comes for you in the middle of the night, when you're least expecting it, you do me a favor. Play along." I told him.

TBATG

I closed the ambulance doors when Morgan, Rossi and Emily walked up to me, "How is she?" Morgan asked

"She's strong. She'll make it. But you don't survive something like that without scars." I said

"Scars remind us where we've been. They don't have to dictate where we're going." Rossi said.

TBATG

We sat on the jet and headed home, Derek was listening to his music, Emily was sleeping, JJ was making something in the jet's little kitchen and Rossi was reading a book.

I was reading mine as well when I felt someone sit down in front of me, I looked up and saw Spencer.

"Hey."

"Hi" I said and set my book down.

"You okay?"

"Why do you always ask me that?" I asked and he smiled.

"I don't know, you just always look like your lost in thought." He said and I sighed.

"I was thinking about the other night when I uh...had you stay the night." I said and he cleared his throat, "Look Spence if I made you feel uncomfortable I'm sorry, I just...I didn't really want to be alone and I don't know I feel..." I said and looked out the window, "..I feel better when you're around." I said to him continuing to look out the window.

"I'm sorry I left, I was getting tired and didn't want to intrude." He said and I looked at him and grabbed his hand.

"You wouldn't have intruded, I asked you to stay there." I said and he nodded his head. "Thank you Spence."

"For what?"

"Always being there for me, always comforting me, I don't know what I would do without you." I said smiling at him, _And I love you._

"It's no problem." He said and I let go of his hand and grabbed my book again.


	11. Chapter 11

**The Beauty and The Geek**

"Aah! You son of a bitch! Uhh!" Morgan said when he tackled the suspect to the ground.

"Did he bite you?" I asked him holding my gun on the guy as Morgan turned him over to cuff him.

"Yeah. All right, don't move."

"Dale Schrader, you're under arrest for the murder of Stacy Ryan and the kidnapping of your daughter Jenny." I told him and Morgan picked him up.

* * *

"Your mom, she's gonna meet us at the hospital and he cannot hurt you. You're gonna be fine." the detective told the little girl as we walked up to the house.

"Let me say good-bye to her." Dale said

"You lost that right the minute you took her."

"She's my daughter. Jenny." He said and the little girl started to get scared

"No, no, it's ok. It's ok. He can't hurt you."

"Jenny. I'm sorry."

"You gonna ride in with her?" I hear the detective asked Morgan as I bring Dale to the detective's car.

* * *

"Hey,Morgan's gonna wait for the ambulance. Bunting and I are taking him in. Yeah-no, the cabin's empty. He just left..." I was talking on the phone with JJ

"Yeah, cancel the amber alert." Bunting said over his radio

 _"Roger that. Truck recovered?"_

"Negative on the truck. The girl's upset, but she seems ok. Agent Morgan is gonna bring her in. He's gonna escort her in the ambulance. They should be leaving in a couple minutes." Bunting said, "Killed a random woman and kidnapped his kid, used the same truck. Not the brightest bulb."

"He's been locked up for 11 years. He's out of practice." I told Bunting

"Don't they say these guys come out better criminals?" He asked me

"Smart ones do."

"You saying I'm dumb?" Dale asked me from the back seat

"You're impatient, angry. You took your own kid just to get back at your ex." I told him glancing back

"You got it all figured out."

"Well, your ex-wife said-" I started to say

"She was a liar and I should have killed her."

"Like you killed Stacy Ryan?" I asked him and he just looked at me, "Why did you do it?"

"You wouldn't understand." He said

"Try me." He stayed quiet and looked out the window so I looked at Bunting, "Here's what I don't get about this guy."

"What's that?"

"His whole life he's a thief, he comes out of prison a murderer." I said

"He killed an innocent woman." Bunting pointed out

"How do you know she's innocent?" Dale asked me

"You stabbed her and threw her out of a truck. What the hell did she ever do to you? You know, what I don't get Is why you couldn't just appreciate the freedom. You could have holed up in that cabin a long time, enjoyed the quiet. But some people just need the distractions. You probably got used to all that madness when you were locked up." Bunting continued

"It's madness for the sheep to talk peace with a wolf." Dale told him

"That sounds like something my daddy would say."

"Thomas Fuller." I said, Spencer loaned me one of his books, things have gotten back to normal with me and Spencer since that night he stayed with me, I still wanted to just tell him I loved him already but I continued to keep my mouth shut.

"You impressed?" Dale asked me

"I'm surprised. So you're the wolf." I said

"You have no idea."

"There it is. That ego. You know, for one second, you were unpredictable. But you can't help yourself. You gotta talk a big talk. But just so you know, that's boring." I said and suddenly Dale hunged over in his seat.

"Hey, what was that?" I asked looking back at him, "Sit up."

"Oh, I'm gonna be sick."

"What's going on?" Bunting asked me

"I don't know."

"I'm gonna pull over." BUnting said and slowed the car.

"Oh, I'm gonna be sick."

"Can you turn the light on?" I asked him

"I'm gonna be sick."

"Oh, what the hell?" Bunting asked annoyed

"Ohh! Am I still boring?" Dale asked me

"What?"

"Am I boring?!" He asked again reaching his hands up I saw they were free and he buckled his seat belt, just as I raised my gun towards him the car is hit by another vehicle and throw down the hill and I black out.

When I came to I hear grunting and looked over to see Dale choking Bunting killing him

"Ahh..." I groaned and Dale came over to me

"Where are the keys?" He asked trying to get into my pocket, I tried pushing him away but I wasn't strong enough, "Uhh!" Dale uncuffed himself and I saw a man coming down the hill, "Oh, wait! I'm a federal agent! I have a prisoner in here who's just killed this officer!" I told the guy who came to Bunting's window then moved to the back

"I knew it. You are one committed son of a bitch." Dale said to the man and the guy helped him out, "Ohh! Oh, my arm!"

"No, no, that's the prisoner! What are you doing?" I asked and the guy brought Dale over to Bunting's door and I reached down to try and free myself.

"Give me the gun." The guy said

"What?"

"What's wrong with you? You killed a cop? Give me the gun." The guy told him

"She's a fed. Look, she knows there's two of us now." Dale told the guy.

"You're gonna need stitches."

"I'm not going to the hospital." Dale told him

"There's a lot of blood. Put pressure on it. You're gonna be all right. Give me the gun." The guy said to Dale

"Come on, give me the damn gun! Get in the truck! Come on! Come on! Uhh!" The guy said helping Dale up the hill

I finally managed to unbuckle myself and reached my hand down finding my gun, I kicked the windshield and crawled onto the hood as the truck started to pull away so I lifted my gun up and started shooting hitting the light on the top of the truck, I climbed down the hood ignoring the agonizing pain coursing through my body and fired my gun again. I started up the hill and kept firing, I took out a couple more lights on the truck. I got to the top of the hill and the truck was gone.

A few moments later I see an ambulance pull up and Morgan got out, "Elizabeth! Ohh. What the hell happened? Are you all right?" He asked me running over.

"Bunting's down there. He's dead." I told him

"Where's Schrader?"

"He's gone. It was a-a big...truck, New York tags, Uh, victor alpha 737. They went northbound about 10 minutes ago." I told him trying to remember every detail I could

"Son of a bitch got away." Morgan said

"He's got a partner."

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"First case back, we won, and you'll be home for breakfast." Rossi told Hotch and I was taking things off the board.

"We never figured out why Schrader killed Stacy Ryan. She had no connection to his daughter or his ex-wife." Hotch said

"There's been an accident. Elizabeth's in the hospital, Bunting's dead." JJ told us and I quickly turned around

"Is she all right?" I asked, me and Liz finally got back on track after everything, I almost came close to telling her how I felt when she held my hand on the jet as we talked, I was still so in love with her and it scared me to let her know that

"She has a concussion." JJ said

"Is Morgan with her?" Hotch asked

"Yeah."

"Where's Schrader?" Rossi asked

"Northbound in a truck." She told him

"A truck?"

"He has a partner." JJ told us

"What?"

"We need roadblocks-now." Hotch said

"Do we have a tag?" Rossi asked her

"Uh, Elizabeth murmured a partial." JJ said and handed Rossi the paper

"Better than nothing." Rossi said and started to walk away

"He could be headed to Canada. We need somebody who knows the area."

"I'll get an officer." JJ said and started to walk away

"And JJ-"

"Yeah, you want Schrader's face everywhere." She said and left

"Schrader was a bank robber. Now he's murdered a woman, kidnapped his daughter, and killed a cop." Hotch said looking at me

"He's obviously more sophisticated than we originally thought."

"He's got a bigger plan. It's not just about getting his daughter and fleeing the country." Hotch pointed out

"We never profiled that he'd have a partner." I told him

"We don't know this guy at all."

My heart was racing, I just wanted Elizabeth to be okay.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"No, we gotta find Schrader." I told Morgan as they wheeled me on a gurney through the hospital

"The team's got it covered."

"Don't make me stay here." I said and pulled the ice pack off my neck but kept the other one to my head, "I'm fine, honestly. Pull this thing over." I said to them

"Elizabeth, you can't even focus. You have a concussion." Morgan told me

"I saw the guy." I told him

"White, 40s, I know."

"Ok, so give me a cognitive interview." I said

"Your adrenaline's pumping." Morgan says

"Exactly."

"Elizabeth, you're in shock." He said

"It just happened. It'll never be clearer."

"How many shots did you fire?" He asked

"3."

"You emptied your clip." He told me and I looked at him shocked

"No... I did?" I asked and they wheeled me into a room.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"All right, so Schrader pulled a series of bank heists In the 1990s. He was the only one to ever go away for the crimes. He was a model prisoner, only served 11 of his 15 years, was released early on good behavior, and any friends he had are either dead or still in prison." I said and walked over to the table

"A 3-ton truck was found north of the accident, not too far from Canada." Rossi said walking up.

"We have the heaviest presence at border crossings. He probably knows that." I pointed out

"I don't think he's gonna sit still for long." Rossi tells me

"He might have to depending on how injured he is."

"What do we know?" Rossi asked Hotch

"Dale Schrader went to prison for robbery. He was hands off. All of his crimes were impersonal. 2 days after he's released, he kills stacy ryan and he kidnaps his daughter. It's both personal and emotional." Hotch said

"When he's not attached to the crime, he pulls it off, but the minute he's invested, like with his daughter, he lets his guard down and gets caught. It makes sense." I said

"So he's not the hard-ass we thought he was." Rossi mentioned

"But if jenny were what he wanted, he had her. He could have left." Hotch points out

"Yeah, we thought he took her and ran to Canada, right?" I expressed

"That theory made sense. Why didn't he?"

"Pictures from the accident." JJ said walking over and handed them to us.

"Any word on Elizabeth?" Hotch asked

"Apparently she's arguing with the doctors." JJ said and I gave a small smile

"Yeah that never changes." Hotch said, I looked at the photos and felt my heart sink, how in the world did she walk away from this?

"This took a lot to pull off. What if he's got a group of guys to call on?" Rossi suggested

"I agree. All those bank jobs were a solo, but this is a lot for one man to orchestrate" I told him

"Figured out why he killed Stacy Ryan?" JJ asked

"We haven't found any connection to Schrader, but he may be connected to the partner." I told her

"How?"

"Killing her might have been advance payment for breaking him out of custody." I said

"Garcia, I need everything you've got on Stacy Ryan." Hotch said

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"I can take her from here. Thanks." Morgan said walking over to me and the nurse who was pushing me in a wheelchair

"Thank you. I can walk." I told Morgan

"Sit. I like pushing you around." He said and I chuckled but regretted instantly when my ribs shot with pain, "Does it hurt?"

"If by "it" you mean my entire body, then yes. Did Jenny see anything?" I asked him

"She never saw the partner."

"Oh what the hell?" I said

"They found a truck just a few miles from the accident, plates were missing but it definitely hit your car."

"Ok, so the partner saw everything in the woods, he ran away and stole a truck? Who is this guy?" I asked

"He knew you were taking that road back to the station. He waited for you and he crashed into you. This whole thing feels meticulous." Morgan declared

"Ok, so he needs the partner for something else."

"For what, though?" he asked

"Well, I don't know. I mean, he was locked up all this time. He planned the whole day. He should have had backup plans for his backup plans."

"His ex shouldn't have been home for a few hours, So he clearly had enough time to get across the border with Jenny until we showed up." Morgan pointed out

"But he stayed local, holed up in that cabin. He had what he wanted. He could have just run."

"There's gotta be something else keeping him in Lockport." Morgan says

"I couldn't stop him from choking Bunting." I said, I was still riddled with guilt that I couldn't focus fast enough.

"Elizabeth, don't do that."

"He was right there." I said

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Schrader's face is all over the news." JJ said walking up to us

"He's been on the run for almost 2 hours and we're no closer to catching him." Hotch said

"We need to find the partner." I said and we see Morgan and Elizabeth walk over, _Thank God._ "Hey." I said and stood up, I wanted to rush over to her and hug her but I held back

"Hey."

"How are you?" JJ asked

"I feel like I got hit by a truck." She said

"Here, sit." JJ told her and moved the chair out

"Thanks. Uh, Garcia, tell everyone what you just told me." Elizabeth said putting her phone on speaker then setting it down.

 _"I have unearthed more of Schrader's past. Now, what we do know is that he robbed 15 banks in the state of new york in the nineties. However, what your resident glamour-puss smarty-pants just found out was that most of that money was never recovered."_

"Where is it?" I asked

 _"My best guess- only he knows."_

"Good reason to stick around Lockport." Rossi pointed out

"The last robbery, the one that put him away, should have been routine, right? So what happened?" JJ asked

"Maybe someone turned him in." Morgan said

 _"He kept to himself, always worked alone. Who'd turn him in?"_

"We're missing somebody." Rossi stated

"Garcia." Hotch said

 _"Yes, checking, sir."_

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

 _"Ok. Records leading up to Schrader's arrest show this other bank robber named Dan Otey. And he was looking at copious amounts of time, then he strikes a deal and all of a sudden Schrader is arrested."_

"It can't be a coincidence." Rossi said

"You know, it's not uncommon for criminals to buy jobs off one another. Maybe that's what Schrader did. But Dan Otey sold him out for a lesser sentence." Spencer said

"It doesn't make sense. Otey was a rat and now he's the partner?" JJ brought up

"Yeah, you're right. Schrader wouldn't trust him. If anything, he'd want him dead." Spencer told her

"Probably, but he'd use him first. He'd tell Otey that he owes him one and that he might save his life if he helps him get out of this jam." Morgan pointed out

"Where's he now, Garcia?" Aaron asked

 _"Uh, Dan Otey is a local. He lives off of route 7."_

* * *

"Dan had turned everything around. He was clean, life was finally good. But I was always afraid to believe it, you know? Because then he could be taken away." Dan's wife said to me

"I'm so sorry." I told her, "The other man- what did he look like?"

"Uh, white... Mid-40s... Short hair...I don't know." She said and I wrote it down, it matched the description of the guy I saw

"Had you ever seen him before?" I asked her

"Dale, yeah. The other guy, no."

"We're trying to figure out how Schrader knows his partner." I told her

"I have no idea."

"How did they talk to each other?" I asked

"They didn't. Dale trashed the place, and the other guy took us upstairs. He kept pushing me and...Jason. I didn't know what was gonna happen." She said

"Did he hurt you?"

"He just scared us. He locked us in the back room." She said

"He locked you in the room and that's it?" I asked confused

"Yeah. He told us to shut up and keep it locked. But jason wouldn't stop crying."

* * *

"Schrader gets off on power. That and money are what motivate him." Aaron said walking away from the board he was looking at

"And revenge. 11 years away, he comes out a murderer." Morgan pointed out

"Who needs a partner, somebody as bold as him." Rossi sayd

"And where'd they meet?" Spencer asked

"Schrader was away and patient. The minute he got out, he hooked up with his partner first, and then he killed Stacy Ryan on his way to kidnap his daughter." Aaron mentioned

"What's missing from his day?" Morgan asked

"The money." Rossi tells him

"He took his daughter but left the money. That doesn't make any sense." Morgan countered

"Did he have another plan on how to support himself in Canada?" Aaron asked

"He's only known a life of crime. He's incapable of change. Time away proved that." Rossi tells him

"Well, Otey's wife said that the partner locked them away, like he didn't want them to get hurt." I told them

"He was protective. That's weird, right?" JJ asked

"They're both dominant personalities, but they sound like they played good cop/bad cop." Rossi said

I looked at Morgan, "Well, it's been 4 hours since the accident. You still think I'm in shock?"

"There's one way to find out." He said

* * *

"All right, take a deep breath, Elizabeth." Morgan said to me

"Let's just do this."

"All right. Tell me what you saw. Was it dark?" He asked

"Yeah. You were there. You know it was." I told him

"Come on, now." He said

"Ok."

"What did it smell like inside the car?" He asked

"Sweat." I told him

"So you were hot?"

"Yeah. I-I opened the window a little bit." I said and brought my mind back to that moment, "It's really quiet."

"Are there any other cars on the road?" Morgan asked me

"There's one coming." I said

"What color is it?"

"I... It's too bright." I said as the car passed me with it's headlights blining me for a moment.

"Ok, but you looked at it. You saw it."

"It's a 4-door hybrid, black."

"Where was Schrader?" Morgan asked

"He's looking out the window." I said looking back at Dale.

"Was he waiting for something?"

"Here comes another car." I said seeing another vehicle

"A car or the truck?"

"It's the truck. Schrader sees it. That's when it happens. He's... Out of his seat belt. He's hunched over. And he gets his cuffs out in front of him." I tell him

"Ok, then what?"

"Uh, bunting pulled over, and-and Schrader put his seat belt back on. He knew it was coming." I told him watching Dale buckle himself

"Where did the truck come from?"

"Uh, behind us." I said then focused again, "Uh, no- Uh... It was in front of us." I said and the truck smashed into us.

"Who was driving, Elizabeth?"

"I don't know. I can't see." I said starting to panic

"Ok. It's all right, it's all right. You're sure it was the truck?"

"Yeah. It's a big truck." I said

"Think. Who was driving? Who was driving?" Morgan asked

I see a man with short black hair in the drivers seat, "A white male, 40s."

"All right, now your car stops rolling." Morgan said

"Yeah. Um... I'm pinned. My seat belt is jammed." I said trying to undo my seat belt as it pins my chest, "I can't breathe. I can't see anything. I can hear-" I said and I see Dale killing Bunting, "Oh, god, he's killing Bunting."

"But the partner's not there yet?" Morgan asked

"No." I said

"Where is he?"

"He's running towards us." I told him seeing the driver run doen the hill

"What's he wearing?"

"Jeans. Boots." I told him

"What's wrong with you? You killed a cop?"

"He's freaked out that Bunting's dead." I told him

"Why would he care?" Morgan asked

"I don't know. But he won't let him kill me."

"Give me the gun." Dale said

"She's a fed."

"She knows that there's two of us now." Dale told him

"And he keeps telling him to...put pressure on it. On the bleeding It's gonna be ok." I said then looked again, "Wait. He was talking to me." I said

"There's a lot of blood. Put pressure on it. You're gonna be all right. Understand?" The partner said to me

"He knew we were on that road. He was upset that bunting was dead. He wouldn't let Schrader kill me. He kept telling me to put pressure on it. And he was calm, like he's done this before. He was helping me." I said and we walked back to the others.

"He took Dan Otey's family upstairs, protected them from Schrader." JJ said

"Do we really think a good guy hooked up with a criminal like Dale Schrader?" Morgan asked

* * *

"So how did Schrader get this guy to sign on?" I asked blowing on my coffee, it's probably been a good 24 hours since I've slept, I want to catch this guy so I can go home and rest, I looked over at Spencer who was looking at something, I also wanted nothing more then to have him lay next to me again.

"Good people do bad things. I'm just saying, it happens." Rossi said bringing me out of my thoughts

"Right. But this partner wouldn't let me die. He protected Otey's family. In the same day, he helped a convicted felon escape custody. His loyalties are all over the place." I told him

"The guy sounds desperate. Maybe he needs some money. I mean, Schrader's got a lot of it still out there. He could have promised him a cut." Morgan pointed out

"Ah, I don't know. He's an accomplice to 3 murders and a kidnapping. Is there enough money out there For you to sign on to something like that?" I asked him

"So it's something bigger than the money." Rossi said

"Um, maybe Schrader's threatening him." I thought out loud

"Leverage?" Rossi asked me

"It would have to be big."

"We caught Schrader because he kidnapped his daughter. He was emotional and his guard was down. Clearly, family means more to him than we thought." Aaron said

"Schrader's ex-wife forced him to give up custody of jenny. Maybe he wants this guy to know what it feels like to lose his family, too." I told them

"It sounds like revenge to me." Morgan pointed out

"Maybe it is." I said

* * *

"Anything on schrader's case?" JJ asked as her a Spencer rejoined us

"The usual suspects- judge, lawyers." Rossi said looking through a file

"They're all accounted for this morning." Morgan added

"If it's revenge, then it's gotta be someone who put him away." Spence said to him

"Well, it's not the officers who arrested him or the judge who sentenced him." Aaron said

"Then who is it?" I asked not taking my eyes off the board

"Garcia, I need the names of every law enforcement agent Involved in the schrader case.  
Aaron said to her.

 _"You know everybody."_

"Yeah, but I want every single employee the year that he was arrested." He told her

 _"Ok, give me a minute."_

"A whole minute? Come on, baby girl, what, are you losing your touch?" Morgan said and I tried to fight back a smile

 _"Oh, watch your pretty mouth. Personnel records come at you now."_

"Who's still active?" Aaron asked Spencer who was flipping through the names on the paper

"Most."

"Would he risk using an active officer?" JJ asked

"Depends on how much he hates them. Has anyone retired?" Rossi asked him

"Yeah, two of them. Let's see- matt massey, jeff messick. Both married with kids, white, in their 50s." Spencer told him

"Wait, can I see those pictures?" I asked him and he handed them to me, "No. No." I said setting the pictures down, none of them were the guy, "Ohh. Why wouldn't he go after one of the officers who arrested him? It makes the most sense for revenge."

"Hey, wait a minute, guys. Listen to this. There was a witness who never testified on Schrader's behalf." Morgan said and handed the file to Aaron

"Schrader could see that as a betrayal. He gets out of prison and uses him to get what he wants. Garcia, I want you to run a history on a witness from the Schrader case, Joey Short." Aaron said to her.

 _"Joey Short. Was born in '66 in nyc. Didn't hold a lot of jobs except for construction. In and out of rehab."_

"Where is he now?" Morgan asked

 _"His last known address was 10 years ago."_

"Did he do time?" Rossi asked her

 _"Mm-mmm. No."_

"Come on, Garcia. People don't just disappear. This guy's got a history with a lot of holes in it. He went to rehab. You know, maybe this guy had to walk the walk." Morgan said

"He was undercover." Aaron pointed out

"That makes sense. Those guys are up for anything, and they take big risks, professionally and personally." I told them

"It explains his behavior, too. Good guy doing bad things." Spencer says

"Garcia, can you get us Joey Short's real name?" Morgan asked her

 _"It's not here."_

"Well, if Schrader can find it, so can we. The guy needed to be Schrader's friend, so they're probably around the same age. Look for academy graduates in the early nineties." Morgan told her

 _"Ok."_

"Did any of them not go into police work?"

 _"Baby, I don't follow you."_ Garcia said

"If he went undercover, then anything tied to the academy would have to be severed. I mean, the guy graduated, be he had to immediately start working his history as joey short. He went into construction, made his contacts in the bank robbery world, and then he met Schrader, earned Schrader's trust, and then turned him in and got out of the game." Morgan mentioned

 _"Ok. Here's a couple of guys look like they dropped out."_ Garcia informed us

"You got any pictures?"

 _"Sending them your way now."_ Garcia said and I leaned down and looked at the screen

"That is the guy. That picture is 10 years old, but that's him."

 _"That is joe muller. He has a wife and 2 kids."_ Garcia told us

"That's definitely the guy. Where is he now?" I asked

* * *

"Ok, thanks." JJ said and hung up her phone, "Muller's not at home. No one is. His wife didn't show up at work, The kids weren't at school yesterday or today."

"Schrader probably has them hostage." Rossi concluded

"Yeah, but where? What could joe muller do for him?" Morgan asked

"The only thing that's left. He can get him the money." Spencer pointed out

"Well, no one even knows where it is." I told him

"Schrader knows."

"Where do these guys hide money?" JJ asked

"Someplace safe." Spence said to her

"Would he be bold enough to hide it a safe deposit box?"

"A thief using a bank? Yeah, maybe." Spence said

"Schrader can't walk into a bank. His face is everywhere. No one would think twice if Muller walked in." JJ says and I agree

"He'd have to have a key." Spencer told us

"Where's the physical evidence from the Schrader case?" I asked

"We don't have it." Morgan told me

"Well, if we can figure out where Schrader hid the money, we'll know where he's going."

* * *

Me and Morgan arrive at the evidence room and the lady buzzed us in, "Thank you." I said opening the door, "We're with the FBI. We're working the Dale Schrader case." I told her

"Is Joe Muller helping you?"

"No." I said confused

"He was just here." The lady told us

"When?" Morgan asked

"2 minutes ago."

"Thank you." I said and we ran out of there

"Stop the car!" Morgan yelled and I see Dale pull a gun on Joe, "Put your hands where I can see them!" Morgan said as we reached the truck Joe and Dale were in with our guns raised

"Don't shoot." Joe said to us

"Schrader, put it down!"

"Put it down!" I told Dale

"You really gonna let me blow his brains out?"

"Drop it or I'll shoot!" I said

"What's wrong, agent? You still upset that I killed your buddy? Did he have kids like this one? Huh?" Dale asked me and I gripped my hand on my gun, "Look at her. She's pissed."

"Don't kill him." Joe told us

"Look at that look in her eyes. She's gonna. She is gonna do it. Come on, what are you gonna do?!"

"Don't shoot." Joe insisted

"Don't do it, Schrader." Morgan told him

"How's your arm?" Dale asked and went to turn his gun on Morgan but before he could do anything I shot him through the windshield

"Hey! No! No! Where are they? Where's my family? Tell me where they are!" Joe yelled at Dale

"Back up! Get away!" Morgan told him

"Help him!"

"Get away from him! Back off!" Morgan told him again

"She just killed my family." Joe said and looked at me, "You just killed my family!" Joe yelled at me and got out of the truck.

"Calm down!" I told him putting my hand up to stop him but still kept my gun raised

"You just killed my family! You killed my family!" He said and started to grab me but Morgan grabbed him and pulled him back

"Hey! Stop!"

* * *

"The only person who knew where my family was and now he's dead. I had every chance to kill him but I couldn't, because he had my family. 2 days. Somewhere."

"And this photograph is the only proof of life?" I asked him

"Where's my phone?" He asked and Spencer handed it to him and he played a voicemail, _"Joe, honey, it's me. He got us. All of us. I don't know where we are. God, I am so sorry."_

 _"Help us, daddy!"_

 _"Just do what he says, ok? Please just do whatever he says."_ Then the message ends

"I'm gonna get Garcia to trace this." Morgan said grbbing the phone

"Unknown name, unknown number." Joe told him

"She might be able to help." Morgan said and walked away

"There was only one phone call?" JJ asked him

"I tried to get him to let me talk to them again, but he wouldn't."

"There must not be anyone there watching them." JJ pointed out

"So he hid a family where no one hears them call for help." Rossi said

"Someplace remote. That cabin?" SPencer asked

"No. The locals tore it apart. There's no one there." I said

"Where are they?" Joe asked

"You saw schrader since he's had your family. You saw something or heard it. There's got to be some clue." Aaron told him

"When was the last time you saw your family?" I asked him and he said the last time was when him and his wife were going to work.

"You notice any cars on the street?" Aaron asked him

"Nothing. Our routine's the same every day. The kids have to be at school by 8:15, then molly heads to work."

"She didn't make it to either yesterday. What was her route?" Spencer asked him

"Uh, north on route 7, east on 22."

"Is that route isolated during the morning commute?" Rossi asked

"No."

"If he was watching, there's a good chance she never left the driveway." Aaron said

"I drove out first. I just left them there."

"Where did he find you?" Spencer asked him

"At the hardware store. He told me how for 11 years he'd been trying to figure out how he got locked up. He knew Otey had ratted him out for the robbery, but that wasn't enough to put him away. He said I was the piece that didn't fit. He figured out I was a cop." Joe said

"And he took your family. Did you ever see this woman?" Aaron said and held up a picture

"Yeah. I think she's some junkie. I saw her right after he told me...'You help me, your family lives. You don't, they die.'" Joe said and told how Dale killed her.

"He could have left the body in the alley." Aaron mentioned

"Why didn't he?" I asked

"He didn't want to draw attention to that place." Rossi told us

"Where was it?" I asked Joe

"Uh, south of van wyck."

"Bad area?" Rossi asked him

"Abandoned. Junkies took over."

"Perfect place to leave hostages." Spencer said

"Can you take us back there?" I asked

"Wait. You think she knew about my family?" Joe asked us

"Her murder was the only thing that didn't fit, and now it makes sense. Schrader killed her to shut her up." I told him

* * *

We arrive back at the area Joe told us about and we walk in with our guns raised, "Rossi. Turn around. Turn around! Fbi. Where are they?" Morgan said and we see a junkie sitting on the floor then he starts to get up

"Give me the stuff, I'll tell you."

"Where are the kids?" I hear Morgan ask as me and JJ continued into another room

"We're going up." Morgan said as I kick a door into a room open , "Come on, Rossi.

"Clear!" JJ yells

"Clear. Clear." I said and we enter another room and see a woman in there

"Molly? Hey." Joe said going over to her

"The kids. I'm so sorry." She said through tears

"Where are they?" He asked her

"I don't know."

"Where are the kids?" Joe asked again

"I don't know. Find them." She said and JJ went over to her, me and Joe ran out of the room when Rossi comes and gets us.

We walk into the room Morgan is in and there's a little boy hunched in the corner, "Hey, hey, hey, hey. Are you ok?" Joe asked rushing over to him, I hear a bottle rattle and I turn to see a younger boy walk out wearing only a diaper.

"Oh, hey. Hey. Ok. Ok. How you doing? Can I pick you up?" I ask him and he raised his arms up and I grabbed him," Ok. Ok. Come here, sweetheart. Oh, I got you." I said and we brought the boys back to Joe's wife.

Washington Irving said, _"There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They are messengers of overwhelming grief and of unspeakable love."_


	12. Chapter 12

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"You two, that's not the point." Emily told me and JJ as we exited the coffee shop

"Well, are you gonna call him?" JJ asked

"Maybe."

JJ groans, "Emily."

"Mick Rawson is an arrogant, Oversexed, egotistical-"

"Hot British dude with a sexy accent, badge, and gun. Just your type." I said

"Okay what about you missy? Are you ever going to tell Spencer how you feel?" She asked me and I took a sip of my coffee

"You know I don't even know why I told _you_ guys." I said

"Ugh. You know what? I don't even get you sometimes." JJ told not only Emily but me as well

"Sorry. It wouldn't go anywhere." Emily said to her

"You don't know that."

"I know our work schedules." Emily pointed out

"Ok, you know what? Will and I make it work." JJ said and we see Garcia walking over to us carrying a bunch of shopping bags

"Oh. Oh, no." I laughed

"I know. I know. I know. Don't say it. But when you see what's in here...and it's not my fault. They were calling to me, I swear. And they were all on sale. And when you think about it, that means that I am helping the economy, which is more than I can say for you guys, 'cause no one else has bags." Garcia said to us

"Yeah. Please tell me all of those aren't for my son." JJ told her

"They're not." Garcia said

"Good."

"This one is for Kevin." Garcia said holding up a tiny bag and we laughed, "What? It is my duty as a fairy godmother to spoil the child, and Henry is finally old enough to be fun when opening presents. I'm not taking them back. Give me my coffee and no one's gonna get hurt." Garcia said

"Oh, uh, half-caf extra shot venti, 2-pump nonfat, Hold the whip caramel macchiato." Emily said handing Garcia her coffee, I got a kick from watching her order it and seeing the barista's face

"Mm-hmm. Next stop, Xanadu." Garcia said and JJ's phone rings

"Oh, wait. Uh... Xana-don't. Time to go to the BAU, ladies." and we sigh

"Maybe I should get a cat." Emily said and I put my arm through hers and we walked back to the car.

* * *

We sat at the round table as Rossi walked in wearing a nice suit, "Whoa!" I said

"Sorry to ruin your night." Aaron told him

"What, are you working on wife number 4?" Morgan asked and I chuckled

"I see you people way too much." Rossi said and sat down

"Let's get started." Aaron told us

"All right." JJ said, "Anchorage field office is asking us to investigate a series of murders in Franklin, Alaska. There's 3 people dead in less than a week."

"For a town with a population of 1, 476, That's fairly significant." Spencer said

"It's their first murder investigation on record." JJ told us

"Who are the victims?" I asked her

"Uh, Jon Baker, a hunter. Dedaimia Swanson, a schoolteacher. Brenda Bright, the first mate on a fishing boat. There's a new victim every 2 days."

"Any connections?" Emily asked

"Unfortunately, in a town this small, everyone's connected." JJ pointed out

Different kill methods. It says the first two victims were both shot with a rifle, but Brenda Bright was stabbed twice with an arrow?" Morgan questioned

"Are we sure it's the same guy?" Rossi asked

"All 3 victims were found in heavily trafficked areas. The unsub wants them found sooner than later." Aaron said

"Jon Baker's body was left exposed to the elements, but the two women were buried under mounds of trash. Why?" I asked

"It could be a sign of remorse. Cover their bodies so he doesn't have to face The reality of what he's done." Spencer said

"Or he thinks that the women are trash and he's just placed them where he thinks they belong." Morgan pointed out

"Well, we can't be sure of anything yet. Franklin is an isolated fishing community that's been hit really hard by the current economy. Add to that a series of unsolved murders and everyone's on edge." JJ said

"The local sheriff's out of his depth. And Alaska hasn't handled a serial investigation Since Robert Hansen in the eighties. We'll fly out tonight everybody can sleep on the plane. Garcia, I need you with us." Aaron told us

"Sir?"

"I've tasked a satellite up link and it's your job to keep us connected." He told her

"Yes, sir."

"This town's already on the brink, and if this pattern continues, we've only got another day until the next murder. Let's finish this fast." Aaron said and we got up.

* * *

"This guy's all over the map. Crosses sex and race boundaries. He changed his kill method. It says to me he's disorganized." I said looking at the file

"Yet there weren't prints at any of the crime scenes, and he isolated his victims." Rossi said

"Wearing gloves and making sure there aren't any witnesses-that's a no-brainer. But what concerns me is the evolution of the kills." Morgan voiced

"Evolution?" JJ asked him

"Well, he started with easy prey. Jon Baker was in his mid sixties. It's relatively low-risk for a first-timer. Dedaimia Swanson was in her early fifties. She wouldn't be that difficult to overpower."

"But he didn't have to overpower either one of them both victims were shot." Spencer pointed out

"Which is my point exactly. He killed them both from a safe distance, but Brenda Bright was younger, more athletic. She would have been able to put up much more of a fight, so why not shoot her, too?"

"That supports the disorganized theory." Aaron said

"Maybe he didn't get what he wanted from his first two victims. Brenda Bright was an attractive woman. He used an arrow, but he didn't shoot her with it. He stabbed her. I think we all know what that means." Rossi interjected

"When we land in Anchorage, there'll be a float plane to take us to Franklin. When we get there, Morgan and Prentiss work the crime scene. We need to know exactly how he ambushed his victims. Reid and Rossi, the bodies find out what you can there. JJ and I will work victimology. And, Garcia, you and Elizabeth take town records. Find us something we can use." Aaron said and I nodded my head.

"Of course, sir. I should let everybody know that reception in the area is unreliable at best. I'm giving everybody satellite phones for communication, and I've already preprogrammed all your digits into speed dial. Guess who's lucky number 7." She said and we smiled.

Once the jet landed we all got into the float plane and flew off to Franklin, I was looking out my window at the sights when I felt someone lean closer, I saw out the corner of my eye that is was Spencer, my heart began to race with how close he was.

"It's actually really beautiful out here." I told him.

"Yeah it is." He said and settled back into his seat, my heart wouldn't calm down as I suddenly missed how close he was.

* * *

"Cup of coffee, Jace?" The lady running the hotel asked the sheriff while I looked through papers and Garcia set up her laptop

"Whoa. What are you doing?" I hear a guy ask as he came and stood behind Garcia

"Trying to make this place a little less analog." She said and I looked between her and the guy who had a confused look on his face, "Sorry. I forget my hacker jokes aren't funny. My name is Penelope. I'm the one who doesn't carry a weapon, aside from my biting wit, and my job includes combining my kick-ass systems with your sheriff's department database to get the skinny on your neighbors and you." She said and I smiled looking down at the papers I was holding

"Or you could just ask us what you want to know. I mean, isn't it better to just talk to us directly than look up our dirt secretly?"

"No. Because in my experience, The information superhighway never lies and people do. Your name would be?" She asked him

"Josh. My mom Carol, she owns the place." Josh said and Garcia started typing on her computer

"It goes like this. Here we are. Joshua Beardsley, age 23, Born right here in Franklin, AK. Moved to Anchorage for middle and High School. Majored in hotel management at Seattle U and you moved back home a few weeks ago." Garcia said to him

"Perfect timing, huh? I come home, people start dying."

"Hmm. That's when I check your criminal record. And you, my friend, are clean as a whistle." She said

"What does that even mean?"

"No idea." Garcia laughs,

"No dirt, anyway, so, I guess I'm safe, then?" He asked

"For now."

* * *

"He's already experimenting with his victims. He violated Brenda Bright with an arrow." Rossi said after he stoked the fire

"And he's inciting panic. People who have lived here most of their lives are packing up to leave." Morgan told us

"Can you blame them? We have a psychopath whose hunting ground is a town of 1, 400 people." I said

"Most of them grew up learning to kill animals and start fires." Spencer said

"It sounds like your basic survival skills." The sheriff pointed out

"No. They're hunting skills. Think about it. The marksmanship, The urine- it makes sense." Rossi said

"Urine makes sense?" Derek asked him

It's a hunter's trick. You urinate downwind to keep the animals away."

"Ew." I said and Spencer smirked at me

"He tried to preserve Jon Baker's body so it would be discovered intact." Aaron says

"All right, so we've got a psychopath with hunting skills who knows the routines of everyone in town. How are we supposed to keep everyone safe?" JJ asked

"Sheriff, I suggest you institute a curfew until we have the unsub in custody. Nobody out after dark." Aaron told him

"I'll have one of my deputies patrolling around the clock."

"Garcia, Elizabeth, how's it coming with town records?"

"Garcia ran everyone who's been printed through CODIS. Nothing's come up so far." I told him

"I'm gonna pull an all-nighter, finish going through the town records. Should have background checks by sunrise." She added

"Good. The rest of us should get some sleep, start fresh in the morning." Aaron told us

"I've got 4 of the upstairs rooms available." The hotel owner said

"Uh, 4?" Spencer asked and I looked at him then back at the woman

"Come on, that's the best we can do. Your team is double the size of my department. I'll see you in the morning." The sheriff said and left

"Good night. It looks like we'll have to double up." Aaron said standing up

"I'm not sleeping with Reid." Morgan said and for a second Spence looked a little hurt.

"Dibs." Garcia said grabbing Morgan's hand and he smirked.

I made my way over to the front desk where Aaron was at and I saw Emily, JJ, Rossi and Morgan head up the stairs.

"Hey, did you get a room?" He asked me and I shook my head, "Well you can bunk with me."

"Um..no, I'm not sharing a room with you" I told him.

"Why not?"

"You snore." I said and he scoffed.

"No I don't

"Yes you do. Remember when I stayed at your place over semester break at college? I could hear you snoring from down the hall. I'm just glad it wasn't the other thing." I said and he smiled.

"Well then what are you gonna do? JJ's with Emily, Morgan's with Garcia, and I guess Rossi is with me." He said and I sighed then put my head down.

"That leaves Spencer doesn't it?" I said looking back up at him.

He chuckled and walked away, "Good night." He said walking away.

"I'm disowning you!" I yelled over my shoulder at him.

"No you're not." He shouted back and headed up the stairs as Spencer walked over.

"Hey, everyone all doubled up?" He asked

"All but you and me, guess we're bunk mates." I said with a smile and headed up stairs.

When we reached the room I was silently praying that there was 2 beds and not 1, when I unlocked the door I saw that there was 2, _Thank god._

I walked over to the bed by the window and set my bag on it while Spencer set his down, I unzipped mine, grabbed my clothes and went into the bathroom to change. When I came back out Spencer was sitting on his bed with a book in his lap so I grabbed mine out, laid on my stomach and started reading it.

"So how come you didn't bunk with Hotch?" I hear Spencer ask and I looked at him, he was still loking at his book.

"Oh um...he snores." I said and Spence looked at me.

"So do you." He said and I looked at him pulling my eyebrows together.

"No I don't."

"Not as obnoxious as most men do but when you fell asleep that night I stayed there you were snoring, quietly." He said and I grabbed a small pillow and threw it at him.

"Shut up Spencer." I said and he smiled at me and I looked back at my book.

"How many times have you read that book?" He asked me.

"About 13 times since High School." I said still looking at my book.

"Why 13?"

"Because not everyone has an eidetic memory genius." I said smirking at him.

"But if you read it 13 times you should have been able to remember everything from the book after the 3rd or 4th time."

I shut my book, I got up from the bed, putting the book on my table and sat down on his bed across from him, "Truth is I read it so much because it's the first book Aaron ever read to me when we were kids. Whenever there was a storm and I couldn't sleep or our parents were arguing downstairs, it gave me comfort as weird as that sounds." I said and moved my knees to my chest.

"Oh, I see." He said, "Did you become an Edgar Allan Poe fan after that?"

"Yeah actually, I've read the Tell Tale Heart at least...7 times, Annael Lee 9 times, I even have the complete tales and poems by him."

"What's your favorite quote?" He asked me

"Let my heart be still this moment and this mystery explore." I said and he looked at me.

"That's the-"

"The quote you said to me after you woke up from the anthrax poisoning." I said cutting him off and we just looked at each other, "Listen Spence-" I started to say, I was gonna suck it up and finally do it when I hear someone screaming outside, "Do you hear that?" I asked.

"Help! Help! Please! Somebody come help here! Someone is hurt! Please!"

"That sounds like Garcia." I said getting off his bed and grabbing my coat with Spencer behind me.

* * *

"His name's Craig Ramey. Fisherman." The sheriff told me Aaron and Emily as we looked at the body

"Morgan and I met him this morning. He was packing up to leave." Emily said

"He's accelerating his schedule. We should have had another day. Why change that?" Spencer asked as him and Rossi walked up to us

"Ramey was pretty vocal about wanting to get out of town. If the unsub knew that, he could have struck early to prevent his target from getting away." Emily pointed out

"There has to be more to it than that. He brought the body to the tavern we're staying at." I said

"He's telling us that he's not afraid of us. He's gaining confidence." Aaron said, Rossi and Spencer were crouched down looking at the body

"He switched to a hunting knife. Looks like a jagged edge."Rossi said

"There's more physical damage, too, like he was cut open. I won't know until Dr. Johnson does an autopsy, But I'd be willing to bet he took a piece of the victim with him." Spencer told us

"What kind of piece?" Aaron asked him

"It's hard to say, but judging from the location, I would guess liver or spleen."

"But why?" I asked

* * *

"Was Garcia able to give you any new information?" Aaron asked Morgan as he walked up to us

"She's given all she can."

"This guy's taunting us. He's one step ahead." Rossi points out

"I think you're giving him more credit than he deserves. It's like Elizabeth said on the plane, he's all over the place. The victimology's inconsistent, The methodology's evolving, The first kill was sloppy, hesitant, and unplanned." Aaron said

"It was an accident, but it triggered a sexual response. He got off on it." Emily told us

"And he knew then and there he had to kill again. He learned how to get the job done more efficiently." Morgan added

"Yeah, but why the organs?" I asked

"Consumption typically indicates a desire to keep the victim with them. He's having trouble letting go. We're probably looking for someone with severe abandonment issues." Spencer informed us

"It'll be light soon. Let's get everybody together and go over what we know." Aaron said

* * *

"We're looking for an emotionally immature male, probably in his mid to late twenties, who suffered a traumatic loss." Aaron said as he addressed the officers

"Now, this loss could be anything. Death of a parent, separation of a spouse, a loved one who moved away. Something that made the unsub feel abandoned and alone." Morgan added

"He'll have extensive hunting experience. The bodies were buried not because of remorse, They were buried to protect them from wild animals." Rossi said

His familiarity with the victims' routines suggests the unsub has lived here for most of his life. He also has extensive knowledge of the landscape and surroundings." Emily told them

"So we should split up and cover the town. Focus on younger residents with a history of petty crimes and assaults." Aaron directed

"You should look in their trash, Fireplaces, even in laundry. Look for signs of bloody clothes or even cuts and bruises. One of the victims may have gotten in a good blow or two before they died." Morgan said

Bring in anyone who seems to have something to hide. The unsub has already broken patterns, so he could strike again at any time." Rossi mentioned

"Sheriff, you and I need to look at the school, talk to the teacher, see if she remembers any students exhibiting early signs of homicidal tendencies. Let's move." Aaron said

* * *

"Hey. What are you guys working on?" Emily asked Spencer and JJ as we walked into the lobby

"Hotch asked if we'd go through Garcia's background profiles, try to find a link between Joshua and the 4 victims." Spencer said

"You find anything?" I asked sitting on the arm rest of the chair diagonal from Spencer.

"They all had hunting licenses." Spencer mentioned and I sighed

"Needle, meet haystack." I said

"Yeah, we need the big guns." Emily says

"Ripped and ready to rumble." Garcia said entering the room

"Uh, maybe you should sit this one out." JJ told her out of worry

"No, JJ, I'm OK. Put this bastard where he belongs." Garcia said sitting in between JJ and Spencer, "Joshua Beardsley?"

"Yeah. We think he's our unsub." JJ told her

"No, he's not." Garcia defended

"He fits the profile. Abandonment issue triggered by his father's recent death. Hunting experience"

"Reid-" Emily warned as Joshua's mother walks over

"Experimentation with animals." Spencer continued

"Reid." Emily said once more and he stopped and turned to look at Joshua's mother

"You arrested my son?"

"We brought him in as a precaution." Emily told her and she stormed away

"I'm telling you, it's not him." Garcia said

"What makes you so sure?" I asked her

"Because the unsub ran away from me."

"Of course he ran. He knew you were FBI." Spence said

"But Joshua knows I'm a techie. He knows I don't carry a weapon. If he was the unsub, I'd be dead right now." Garcia said raising a good point

* * *

"Wait a minute. You said the unsub has abandonment issues. And Craig Ramey was leaving town, right?" Garcia asked Emily from on the floor

"Yeah, he couldn't wait to get out of town."

"Ok. Uh... Let's see. Dedaimia Swanson was retiring in a month. She was moving to Florida." Garcia informed us

"What about the other two?" I asked her

"Uh, Jon Baker just bought property in Fairbanks, and he and his wife just separated. She just filed the divorce papers."

"Well, welcome back, red delicious." Morgan says walking up to us

"Take a bite out of this. So far, 3 of our victims were on the fast track to getting out of town." Garcia said then typed on her compter, I got up and walked to the arm of the couch and sat down on it next to Spencer who looked at me for a moment, "And let's see...connect 4. Brenda just accepted a job in Seattle."

"Anyone else look like they might be leaving town?" Morgan asked her

"Um... I got one. Kat Allen. She was accepted to the summer honors program at the university of Bloomington. She currently works as a waitress at Big John's coffeehouse." She told him

"Penelope, you are-"

"So ready to go home." She said and I gave a small smile

"Prentiss" Morgan said and they both left

* * *

"If this guy's killing people leaving town, why didn't he attack Kat Allen?" Sheriff Rhodes asked

"Because we had her in protective custody. He couldn't get to her, so he moved on to another target." Aaron told him

"A target who broke her routine. Carol was scheduled to be at the tavern tonight. How did the unsub know she was here?" Morgan asked

"He was stalking her." Emily pointed out

"He chose Carol for a different reason." Aaron mentioned

"Why? What's changed?" I asked

* * *

"I got one of my deputies tailing Joshua. If he does something stupid, we're gonna know." Rhodes said

"There's got to be a connection we're missing. Garcia, anything?" Aaron asked her

"Their lives have been torn apart, figuratively and literally, and I can't find anything."

"Try again." Aaron told her

"I'm hacking into his college database as we speak. Maybe there's something about his life in Seattle I may have missed."

"Good. All right, why Carol? Why the mutilation? Why the overkill?" Aaron asked

"Mutilation? You said you found the remains of mutilated animals in the woods from a rabid bear?" Rossi asked the Deputy

"That's right."

"Did you take pictures of them?" He asked, I think I knew where he was going with this

"Of course we did. We documented everything for identification." Rhodes told him

"We'll need to see those pictures right away." Rossi said

* * *

"Sheriff, we need to adjust the profile." Aaron told him as Rossi looked at the pictures

"What do you mean?"

"These animals weren't mutilated by a rabid bear. Someone did this." Rossi said

"You mean a person." Rhodes pointed out

"An animal wouldn't have left so much." Spencer told him

"We should have seen it before. It's homicidal triad 101." Rossi mentioned

"We said the kills were all over the map. The unsub lacks sophistication and shows immaturity in his kills because he is immature." Spencer said

"He started with animals because that's what he was taught ever since he was a child." Rossi added

"And when he got bored with animals, he moved on to more challenging prey." Aaron says

"People."

"Your unsub's a teenage boy." Aaron concluded

* * *

We arrive at the Porter's house and Aaron bangs on the door, "Mr. Porter, is your son at home?"

"What's it to you?" The dad says and Aaron pushed him inside

"Turn that off." He tells the wife, Spencer and Rhodes start looking through the house while the wife turns the TV off, "Did you know?" Aaron asked her

"Don't know what you're talking about!" The husband said

"Not for sure. Not until last night. He came home covered in blood." She said, I could tell she was terrified, I had seen it before

"He's not here. But the window's open." Rhodes said coming back into the room

"It's not the first time you've washed blood out of his clothes, is it?" Aaron asked her

"Don't answer them, Martha!"

"Sit down and shut up." Aaron yelled at the dad

"Aaron" I said but he ignored me and Spencer walked back into the room standing behind me.

"I promise he will not lay a hand on you again."

"No. It wasn't the first time." She said

"Mrs. Porter, I understand you're only trying to protect Owen, but you can't anymore."

"He's always been different. He's not like us. When he was a little boy, he used to go out into the woods and come home covered in blood." She said to Aaron with her voice breaking a little

"Why didn't you tell anyone, Martha? How could you just sit there and do nothing while people died?" Rhodes asked her

"How did Owen react when Joshua was sent away?" I asked her and I saw the dad give me a dirty look which I ignored

"He wanted to leave, too. But I couldn't let him."

"Mrs. Porter, do you have any idea what social isolation does to a child?" Spencer asked

"I was afraid of what he might do If he ever left here. We knew. We knew what he was." She said to us.

* * *

"Do you know where he's headed?" Aaron asked

"Was there a place he went to be alone?" Spencer asked as well

"A hiding spot when you were mad at him?"

"Hiding spot. How the hell are we supposed to know?" The dad asked and I shot him a glare

"If you know, you need to tell me. I'm trying to help him. There's a mob out there, and if they find him, they're not gonna turn him over. They're gonna take justice into their own hands. If you value your son's life, you need to help me." Aaron pleaded

"Martha, don't!" Lake Lafayette. He and Joshua built a fort there when they were younger." She said and the husbnd crossed his arms

"You'll need a boat upriver to get there." Rhodes said

* * *

We hid on one of the fisherman's boats when we hear a loud thump, me and Aaron walked out and raised our guns towards Owen.

"Owen, put the gun down." Aaron said and Owen raised his rifle

"Drop it, son." Rhodes told him as him and Spencer emerged

"Who do you want to take your chances with, us or them?" I asked him and he turned around as the hunting party ran over

"Drop the weapons and back away!" Aaron told them raising his gun towards them

"Can't do that, agents. The boy's coming with us." one guy said

"It's not happening!"

"Back down, Keith. We're in control now." Rhodes tells him

"What are you gonna do, Steve? He's 16. Send him back to juvie so he's out in 2 years?" Keith asked "He killed Brenda."

"He killed my mom." Joshua said

"He needs help and he will be held accountable for his crimes." Aaron says to them

"Accountable? 5 people are dead."

"Why'd you do it, Owen? Huh? Why'd you kill her?" Joshua asked him

"You left me behind." Owen tells him

"You killed my mom!"

"She sent you away! You left and you didn't come back. 8 years and I never heard from you again." Owen said with his voice full of hurt and anger

"Please, just let us take him in." Spencer pleaded

"Sorry. I can't. I know what you're saying is right, but I can't do it." Joshua said with his gun still raised at Owen

"I'm terribly sorry for your loss, but please just put your guns down so no one else gets hurt."

"Are you kidding? You're outnumbered and outgunned. Who do you think has the higher ground here?" Joshua asked as Rossi and the others came up behind him and raised their guns as well

"I'm pretty sure we do!" Rossi told him

The other men started to lower their guns and Joshua looks at them, "What are you- what are you doing? We can still take him!"

"It's over, Joshua." Keith says to him

"He killed my mom."

"I know, and I'm sorry." Keith said and Joshua raised his gun again but before he could fire Rossi shot him in the shoulder

"You shot him?"

"He'll live." Rossi tells him

* * *

We all started packing up and loaded our things in the car that was taking us to the float plane, I set my stuff in the back when Spencer walked over to me.

"Hey."

"Hi." I said looking at him

"The other night in the room you um...you were about to say something."

I shook my head, "It's not important"

"Are you sure?" He asked and I nodded my head.

"Maybe another time." I told him and I walked over to Aaron who was staring off at the mountains

"Can I talk to you?" I asked him and he faced me, "Earlier at the Porter's..."

"I'm sorry I lost my temper."

"Look," I sighed, "You, me and Sean had it hard growing up with dad, and trust me I hate abusive parents as much as you, but you looked like you wanted to rip that guys head off Aaron." I said and he looked at the ground, "And yes I may not have had it as bad as you two did but that doesn't mean it didn't affect me." I told him

"Do you ever wonder why you never got it like me and Sean did?" He asked and I shook my head, "Because whenever he wanted to go for you me or Sean got in his way so that he left you alone."

I looked at him with my eyebrows pulled together, "Wh-"

"Did you really think we were going to let him hurt our sister?" Aaron asked and I hugged him.

"I love you big brother."

He hugged me back and turned keeping his arm around me, "I love you too little sister." He said and I smiled, "So" He said and I looked at him, "Did you tell Reid yet how you feel?" He asked and I slapped his chest.

"No, kind of got interrupted when Garcia saw Owen killing that guy."

"Or maybe you're just to chicken" He teased and I pushed him away.

"This coming from the man who auditioned for a school play just to talk to a girl." I teased. I didn't even see it coming but the next thing I knew I felt a little bit of snow hit me and I saw Aaron smirk then ran away.

"You better run Hotchner!" I said and chased after him laughing.


	13. Chapter 13

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **A/N: Thank you to everyone who is reading and liking this story your reviews are amazing thanks for the props. Also I know a lot of you are really wanting Elizabeth and Spencer to finally admit how they feel to each other and I promise it will be coming as soon as I can, I'll give you a spoiler though it's gonna be around Season 8 and I'm going to be starting season 6 after this chapter so please bare with me. Also I hope you are enjoying the cute brother/sister moments with Elizabeth and Aaron. Anyways, keep enjoying the story my fine furry friends (see what I did there? Huh? No? Okay I'm done)**

"This is Dorris Archer, she's the third woman to go missing in Boise, Idaho, this year, along with Paula Renmar and Samantha Rush. They went missing roughly 2 months apart." JJ started to tells us but stops and looks towards the door, "Well, hello." she said and I followed her gaze.

 _Damn_ I thought when I saw Spencer walk in with his hair cut short _Thanks Spence way to make me find you even more attractive._

He sat down and glanced at me then looked at Aaron, "What, did you join a boy band?" Aaron asked him and let out a light laugh

"No." Spencer told him and he looked back at me and I smirked then looked back at JJ

"Ok, so what are we looking at here? Late 20s, early 30s." I pointed out

"All single, though two are in committed relationships. All living on their own." Rossi read off of the file

"Looks like normal suburban houses. Gives the unsub privacy." Morgan said

"The differences are more striking than the similarities. Different hair colors, different body shapes." Spence said

"What do you know about his m. O.?" Aaron asked her

"That's why we were invited in. The abduction sites are pristine."

"There's no DNA besides the victims', and there's no sign of forced entry or a struggle." Morgan mentioned

"And the victims aren't reported missing until 2 or 3 days after they're abducted." Emily said

"2 or 3 days... Women like this don't just vanish without somebody noticing." Rossi tells us

"Yes. Which is why I asked Garcia to dig into their lives." JJ says then sits down next to me and Garcia takes over

"And when I took a look at their online activity, I could easily see how the unsub is doing it."

"Social networking sites." I responded

"Yeah. Facebook, twitter. You name an online life-sharing time suck, the victims were on it. And if you look at each of their last posts, they say kind of the same thing...going out of town, going on a business trip, going on a vacation. But when you look at the time and date stamp of each of these, cue the "twilight zone" music, because they were all posted the morning after each of them went missing."

"The unsub posted them." Aaron concluded

"Social networks are an easy way for an unsub to target his victims. These women were especially open. They posted everything from what they were having for dinner to where they were going on dates." Spencer informed us

"So this unsub friends his victims and then uses that as a cover once he takes them." Morgan mentioned

"That means he can hack into their accounts. So he's excellent with computers." Emily added

"Definitely profiles as patient and organized. He's obsessive enough to remove all forensic details, but also patient enough to wait 2 months before abductions." Spencer say

"He can afford to be. He gets 3 days to do whatever he wants to these women." Rossi told us

"That means we need to assume these women are already dead. The question is what he does while he has them." Aaron said

* * *

I stood by the elevator with my go bag waiting for the others and Spencer walked up, "Hey"

I turned to him and smiled, "Hi, nice hair cut." I said and he smirked

"I've been thinking of cutting it for awhile now, I just didn't do it for so long because I don't like a complete stranger touching my hair." He said and I chuckled

"Why didn't you just ask me to do it then?"

"You cut hair?" He asked me

"Oh yeah, I've been cutting my own hair for...3 years now, I've cut Aaron's, my brother Sean's, my old college roommate. I would've done it for you." I told him and he looked down then back at me.

"Maybe next time."

"Definitely, but for now I guess it get to do this." I said and ruffled his hair a litte bit and he moved his head away, I starting laughing and he fixed his hair.

"Stop it." He said in a joking matter.

"Or what Dr. Reid?" _Are you gonna punish me? Damn it woman knock it off_

"This." He said and ruffled mine a little bit, I pulled my head away and lightly smacked him on the chest.

"Well played mister." I said with a smirk while fixing my hair and he smiled.

Just then Morgan, JJ and Emily walked over to us, "Uh oh why does boy genius have that look on his face?" Morgan asked and we looked at him.

"I ruffled his hair." I told him and they laughed.

"What like this?" Morgan asked and ruffled Spencer's hair again, this time Spencer gave Morgan the death glare while I laughed and high fived him.

"Come on children Hotch and Rossi are waiting." JJ said and we got in the elevator.

* * *

"So if this unsub is using social networks to find his victims, can't we use that to find him?" Morgan asked

"Yeah, if these women each had 100 friends Following them, then the unsub would pop up on each of their lists, right?" Emily asked as well

"Uh, the detective in charge, John Fordham, he looked into their groups. Everyone checked out." JJ confirmed

"Social networking sites are surprisingly insecure. Facebook recently tried to update all their privacy settings, and in doing so, they made everybody's profiles view able." Spencer said and I cringed

"Can somebody explain to me the appeal of these sites? "Eating sushi tonight. Yum." "Boss is keeping me late at work. Grr." Whose life is so important that we'd be interested in this kind of detail?" Rossi asked and I chuckled

"You sound like my uncle Jim." I told him and I saw Aaron hold back a smile

"I don't know. I guess that's the running joke, right? I mean, nobody is. But we'd all like to believe there's actually an audience out there That wants to follow our every move. You know, some sites actually have a GPS feature built in. You can tell exactly where someone is every time they post a new comment."

"This is telling us how he's finding them, but it's not telling us how he's getting into their houses."

At the very least, I believe that he has copies of their keys. Dorris archer had a home security system installed, but the disable code was entered at 1:56 A.M. So he knew that, too. He also found a way to deal with her dog. A German shepherd she adopted from the pound last year went missing the night that she did." Spencer pointed out

"All right, so this guy's gotta be in and out of the house well before the night of the disappearance. He comes up with some ruse, talks his way inside, then once he's familiar enough with the house, h knows he can come back and kidnap them without disturbing anything."

"What about the people who come into your house that you don't consider a threat? Home repair guys, dog-walkers." I asked

"Yeah, detective Fordham looked into that, too. No one even came close to being a killer." JJ said

"Ok, Morgan, Elizabeth and Prentiss, start with the last abduction sites. See if anything point to his M.O. Dave, you, Reid, and JJ go back over the women's lives. Start with their friends on the social networking sites. If this is how the unsub is finding them, maybe they're connected to him without even realizing it." Aaron told us.

* * *

"Ok, JJ, I got it." Morgan said on the phone and I saw him move a picture of the shelf, "Actually, yeah. Looks like he did try to hang something on the wall. There's even a little residue left over."

"Morgan, Elizabeth." Emily called to us from the top of the stairs

"Let me call you back." He said and hung up,

"Yeah, what do you got?" Emily said

"Hey, I got one up here, too."

"What would he try to hang on that part of the wall?" I asked

"Well, from here, I have an unobstructed view of the second floor and down the stairs." Emily told him

"It's the same thing down here. You can see the entire entrance."

"Cameras. He put up cameras." I concluded

* * *

"We think this is what he's using to spy on his victims. They're small, they're cheap, and they're easily hidden behind photos, books, plants." Morgan told Aaron holding up a tiny camera while Spencer walked around.

"The footage they record can then be transmitted anywhere... website of your choice, Even your cell phone." Emily added

"And he can toggle between cameras to see everything that's happening in the house." I added as well

"And you found 5 of these at different points in the house?"

"Upstairs, downstairs, bedroom, even the bath." Morgan said

"A ruse gets him in the door, but it doesn't buy him enough time to put up 5 of these." Aaron pointed out

"Right. That's why we think he starts with one camera facing the front door." Emily tells him

"That tells him when it's safe to enter the house, When she comes and goes, When the dog-walker comes, and what the combination to the house is." Morgan said

"It fits his M.O if he learned their every detail on social networks, he will be just as obsessive in his surveillance, and once he learns their routine, all he has to do is pick the lock, put up the rest of the cameras, and boom, he got their whole life at his fingertips." I added

"What does he do with the video? Maybe he keeps them?" Spencer asked from the kitchen

"If he's a voyeur, yes." Morgan answered

"Ah, voyeurs are rarely violent. Their excitement comes from spying without the object knowing they're being watched." Spencer mentioned

"And by abducting his victims, he's removing the outlet of his sexual release. Spencer's right." I said to Aaron, "So he must have some other agenda with these cameras."

"He might be sharing the footage with other people. We need to have Garcia dig into surveillance and illegal video websites."

"I'm going to take this with us." Spencer said holding up a picture

"Why?" Aaron asked him

"We originally profiled there wasn't any facial similarity between the victims, but I'm not so sure that's true. I want to compare Dorris' picture with the other victims."

* * *

"Can you freeze that?" Rossi said and the video paused, "He's acknowledging the camera."

"Tip of the hat to his fans. He knows they're watching." I said

"Classic narcissistic behavior. He's performing for his audience." Rossi finished

"We know the M.O the question is how. What kind of job gives him access to the victims' houses?" Aaron asked

"It has to be network and I.T's, The guy you let in to hook up your internet." I told him

"Gets him in their house and on their computers." Rossi added

"I went through all the women's internet service providers with a fine-tooth comb. They all used different companies and no overlap with sales reps." Fordham said

"What about onsite tech support?" Aaron asked him

"Oh, well, clean as a whistle. They all had alibis with no criminal records."

What I don't understand is, why does he take the bodies with him after they're dead?" Rossi ask out loud

"Yeah, it'd be one thing if he took them while they were still alive, but he's accomplished his task. He murders them and he completes the performance." I told him

"So why take the risk of carrying a corpse to your car?"

"Well, there must be some postmortem behavior or signature or something we're not seeing." Aaron mentioned

"Well, think about that for a second. He's sharing this murder with a crowd of onlookers. What could he be doing to these bodies just for himself?" Rossi said and Morgan walked in

"Hey, guys. Garcia's got something for us." He said and held up his phone, "Go ahead, baby girl."

 _"Ok, friends, I have some good news, but first, here is the thing that sucks. I located the network the unsub is using in Boise, and it is the victims' own wireless."_

"So does he hack in before he starts with the murders?" I asked her

 _"Hacking is obscenely time-Consuming. I just make it look easy because I'm a genius. But he's not me. So my guess is that he's got to lurk around their network for at least a couple of days to a week before he kills them."_

"That's pretty brilliant on his part." Fordham said

"Yeah, he knows when we follow his online paper trail it'll lead us right back to the murder site." Morgan said

"What's the good news?" Rossi asked

 _"Hackers are very loyal to their spoofing techniques, and if they think no one's watching, they'll use the same roads over and over."_

"Ok, so if he goes through Russia, China, and North Korea again..." I started to say

 _"I have flagged those servers, and if he uses them in the same order, I will catch him so fast."_

"Garcia told us that's only going to help us if he commits another murder." Aaron told her

 _"Yes, that's also true."_

"Excuse me." Aaron said and walked away, "Garcia."

* * *

"I was staring at pictures of the victims and I knew there was a pattern connecting them, but I couldn't tell what it was until I broke it down mathematically." Spencer told us, "Why are we so drawn to celebrity faces?" He turned and asked me but I shrugged shaking my head, "Because there's a symmetry to their beauty... The eyes, the ears, the ratio of the forehead to the chin. The more balanced they are, The more appealing they are to our eye."

"These women aren't celebrities, though." Fordham told him

No, but there are similarities between them, and it wasn't until I scanned their pictures And got it to the guys at Quantico that I had a full breakdown. All right, strip away eye color, hair color, and skin tone, and what are we left with geometrically?"

"They're all slightly dystopic. The left eye is slightly lower than the right eye on all the victims."Aaron said

"All the noses are narrow." Emily adds

"The forehead has the same ridge." Fordham pointed out

"He might not even be aware that he sees it in them. There have been studies that suggest that we pick our spouses subconsciously, Based on a facial symmetry that we recognize. So consciously or unconsciously, When he recognizes it, he has to destroy it. Which means he only has interest in the bodies as they relate back to him." Spencer concluded

"Maybe...They're a reflection. Remember what he did at the end of the video?" Rossi asked

"He wiped the tear away." Emily said

"Another act of compassion he's not capable of. His narcissism prevents him from that."

"In the Greek myth, narcissus was so self-absorbed that he fell in love with his own reflection in the water." I said and Spencer looked at me

"Exactly. He finds women with the same face, he strangles them, and then stares at them after they've died. But whose image does he really see?"

"His own." Spencer said

* * *

"Most of us take the internet for granted. We forget about texts that we share or updates we put on social networks. But the internet never forgets. Once it's out there, it's out there forever." I addressed the officers

"Now, we all know about the horrific deaths that get shown on the web. The murder of a journalist. The stoning of an iranian dissident. Those murders are immortal." Morgan told them

"And this unsub craves that same immortality." Aaron says

"He recognizes his face on theirs and he kills them as a way of saying, 'This is what I look like.'" Spencer mentions

"We think this also informs his compulsion to take the bodies with him." Morgan said

"He takes them to a secondary location where we believe he preserves them, so that every time he looks at them, he sees his own ego reflected."

"Fortunately for us, this means we have a good idea of what he looks like. Based on the shape of the victims' faces, we have a rough composite sketch." Emily told them while handing out the sketches

"This unsub is an expert with computers and home networks. So look into criminal records of men with extensive computer training." Morgan brought up

"We know you've already looked into the victims' computer I.T settings, so we'd like to expand the search. Look into electronic stores, Computer distributors, I.T Departments where the women worked."

"We overuse the term narcissistic in our culture, but we're going back to the psychological definition. Every aspect of this man's life has been constructed around an inflated sense of self." I told them

"Unsubs like this are particularly vulnerable to what's called narcissistic injury. If his self-worth is attacked or damaged, he will lash out." Emily stated

"So, if you find this unsub, do not challenge him publicly. Say you just want to talk him, see if he knows anything about the brilliant mastermind who's stalking these women." Rossi mentioned

"Under no circumstances should you denigrate him. As difficult as it is, we need to talk up his exploits as if we respect him." Aaron warned

* * *

"He's going live." Aaron told us walking into the room

"Look at the way he's moving. He's not slow and deliberate. This guy's pissed." Rossi said

"All right, what do we see? Determining markers." Aaron asked

"A one-Story cottage." Spencer pointed out

"It could be anywhere." Fordham told him

"Is there a number on the house?" Morgan asked

"No, and he's already at the door." Emily tells him

"Garcia." Aaron said to her

 _"He's using twice as many proxy servers."_

"Wait. This window here on the bottom... is that the chat room?" I asked pointing at the screen

 _"Uh-Huh."_

"There she is." Emily said

"He's in the house, guys." Spencer says

"He's completely changed his M.O. It is way too early. There's too much light. What happened?" Morgan asked

"Someone asked the wrong question at the press conference." JJ answered

"Oh, my god, turn around. Just turn around." I said

"Maybe she can fend him off." Morgan stated

"New kitchen appliances. Can we track them through work orders?" Spencer asked

"He'll be gone by then." Rossi answered

"Garcia, give us something." Aaron told her

 _"I'm stateside now. I'm almost to Idaho. I just need more time."_

"You're not gonna make it." Aaron says

 _"Yes, I will. I will. I..."_

"Forget the unsub. Can you run a trace on everybody in the chat room?" Aaron asked her

 _"I can't do both, sir. Let me do this."_

"Garcia, tag the viewers. That's an order." Aaron said and we see the unsub starting to strangle the woman who is screaming and gasping, I put my hand over my mouth and looked away, I feel Spencer lightly hold my hand as I fought back tears, normally I can handle this stuff to a fault but I am literally watching an innocent woman get murdered right in front of me and I can't stop it.

* * *

"Her name was Allison Kittridge, 29. This was her first house." I told Morgan as he walked into the house

"All right, so this unsub accelerated his timetable and his M.O. He was moving faster because he was angry." He said

"Yeah. The press conference told him something about himself he didn't like, so he rushed, Which means he made a mistake. Now, what was it?" I asked

"Well, it wasn't the cameras. He remembered to take those with him." Morgan told me as we walked into another room

"It wasn't the body. He took that with him, too. Hey, did, uh, Garcia find anything unusual with Allison's wireless?" I asked him

"No. Records show that it was a basic DSL installation." Morgan told me, "Hey, Elizabeth Help me move this table." He said and I grabbed the other end and we lifted it away from the wall.

"What do you got?" I asked him

"You see this line right here?"

"Yeah." I said looking at the cord he was holding

"This is what brings the internet from the street into the house." He said

"Ok. So?"

"This isn't DSL." He pointed out

"It's not?"

"It's a fiber-Optic cable. Completely different type of connection. We just found his mistake." He told me.

* * *

"If there's already an internet connection in the house, why does he bring his own with him? Is it the upload speed?" Aaron asked as Morgan handed him the cord

"Fiber-Optic allows him to stream large amounts of video."

"And maintain a chat room. That's dozens of computers connected to him at once. He'd need a lot of bandwidth for something like that." I told him

"We checked all the ISPS. Why didn't he turn up?"

"I get mail, phone calls, people knock on my door all the time to see if I want to upgrade my internet." Morgan brought up

"Yeah, I get them, too." I added "And they'll offer to come inside and demonstrate how much faster their connection is."

"You think that's the ruse that gets him in the door?" Aaron asked us

"It makes sense. During his demonstration, he would have access to his victims' computers." I said to him

"On his way out, he asks for a glass of water, a distraction, something to buy enough time to plant that first camera." Morgan said to him

"We need to find out what company owns this cable."

"Detective Fordham's already hunting that down, and there's an I.D. Number on it, so it shouldn't take long."

"We'll have JJ and Reid follow up, Elizabeth I want you to go with them." He said and I nodded my head, "Morgan get Prentiss, I need you two to track down who was in the chat room."

"Garcia finished her sweep?" I asked

"Yeah. Most were international. 3 were local. I bet one of them knows the unsub." Aaron says

* * *

"Yes, this is our cable." Mrs. Hightower told me, JJ and Spencer

"Mrs. Hightower, we went over your records, and it turns out that none of the 4 victims signed up with your service." Spencer told her

"4? God, those poor women."

"We think it's an employee using your cable as a ruse to get into the house. Can you think of any..." I started to say

"Mac Jones. Uh, he worked on one of our trucks as we laid the fiber in with the regular phone line."

"And you're certain that it's him?" Spencer asked her

"We caught him hoarding it. He said it was for a home project. Until we got angry phone calls that he was going door to door offering free fiber-optic installation. We fired him on the spot."

"We need his information." JJ told her

"Absolutely."

* * *

 _"Ladies and gentlemen, meet Mac Jones."_

"That isn't the I.D. we got from the phone company." Spencer told Garcia as we looked at the screen

 _"That's because last year Mr. Jones had his identity stolen. The unsub took his license and his credit card, used them for 2 weeks, and then moved on. Now, I can't tell you who the unsub is pretending to be now, but since a picture's worth a thousand databases, I can tell you who he was." She said and another photo popped up, "Robert Johnson, 3-Time loser, arrested for possession of torture videos. Spent some time in a halfway house before he disappeared. I found a blog of his online. Here's a quote... 'Next time you won't be able to stop me.'"_

"That's his narcissism again." Spencer pointed out

"Furious that he got caught and he remakes himself as a killer." Aaron said

"It allows him to free the impulses that were always there. Garcia, is there a pattern to the identities that he steals?" Spencer asked her

 _"No. He's really disciplined about it. Once he burns through an identity, he never uses the same one again. You know how I describe some suspects as being off the grid? This guy is totally the opposite. He's all over the grid. He's manipulating the grid. And he never stays in one place for very long."_

"So how do we find out who he is now?" I asked

 _"I don't think we're going to. The man known as Robert Johnson is in the wind. If he's this flexible with his name, his real name, forget it. But there's another way we can find him."_

"Which is?" Aaron asked

 _"His online name, His hacker handle. That's the name that matters to him."_

"Wait. Wouldn't he have hundreds of those, too?" I asked

 _"Most definitely. But remember how I said hackers are loyal? They stick to certain names. That's how you identify yourself to other hackers. That's how the FBI caught me."_

"So if we find the handle.." Aaron said

 _"I'll get you the unsub. I promise."_

* * *

"Maybe he's right. Maybe the unsub manipulated him for something else, used his network as part of his spoofing." I hear Rossi say to Aaron as they walk into the room me and Spencer were in and the telephone rings

"Go ahead, Garcia." Aaron said answering it

 _"Watcher 89...i got him."_

"Does he have his own network?" Aaron asked

 _He doesn't need one. He's got a whole city to leech off of."_ She said to him

"He's doing this again tonight. Can you send me a list of networks he's hacked recently?Those are the potential victims."

 _"I got 20 hits."_

"All right. Filter out men and families. He only kills single women." Aaron told her

 _"8 left."_

"Garcia, do you have any pictures?" Spencer asked

 _"Coming your way."_ She said and the pictures came onto the screen and Spencer looks at them.

"Her. She's the one." He said pointing to the woman,

"Lucy masters." Rossi said and looked at Spencer, "You sure?"

"She's the only one with facial symmetry that would appeal to him."

* * *

"Garcia, the unsub is working off Lucy Masters' network. Can you tell where the video's being transmitted to?" Aaron asked her as we watched the woman on screen who is gagged and hanging from a hook.

 _"I can't tell. He's not logged in as watcher 89. He's not using any of the regular proxy servers. If I didn't know any better, I wouldn't know that this was him. Damnit! He's encrypted his connection to the proxies. There's nothing I can do to help you find him."_

 _"_ What do we see?" Aaron asked us

"Metal walls. It must be the secondary location where he takes the victims." Spencer told him

"Wait a minute. Garcia, can you magnify the wall behind her?" Rossi asked

 _"Yeah. Yeah, I can do that."_

"Is that frost on the wall?" I asked

"It's a walk-In freezer." Aaron said

"And I know where he got it." Rossi said and left the room

* * *

Back on the jet after finishing the case I sat in one of the chairs and looked out the window when Spencer sat down in front of me.

"You okay?" He asked me and I wiped away the single tear that fell from my eye.

"Not really, I feel like such a wimp because I turned away when we saw that woman get killed." I said and Spencer got up from his seat and sat in the one next to me.

"That doesn't make you a wimp, it shows that after everything we've seen, after everything you have been though, this job isn't making you loose who you are. A kind hearted, strong woman who would lay her life on the line to protect the ones she loves and the victim in our cases." He said and I looked at him giving him a small smile.

"That means a lot Spence, thank you." I said and he pulled me into a hug.

"Anytime."

 **A/N: *waves* Hi again, just a reminder I do have a Pinterest board set up for this story and a few of my other ones as well, name is hilaryh21, check it out.**


	14. Chapter 14

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"JJ's still in there?" Garcia asked walking over to me, Emily and Spencer as we looked at Aaron's office

"And Strauss." Emily said and Spencer reached for a bottle of tums, "Oh, again with the dairy?"

"I can't help it. I love dairy." He said and I shook my head smiling

"It was my fault, we went to that new ice cream shop that opened up on main." I told her and she gave me a look but I ignored her and continued watching Aaron's office

"It's been, like, what, 20 minutes?" Garcia asked

"Well, 10 more minutes, we're in the air." Morgan said from behind me

"I don't think it's about the case." I said

"Do you know something?" Garcia asked me

"Do I know something?"

"She just repeated the question. You always say that's a sign." Garcia stated and Morgan looked at me

"Do you know why JJ's in there?" He asked

"I have no idea, just because Aaron's my brother doesn't mean he tells me _everything_ "

"What is going on?" Garcia asked again

"Maybe she asked for a raise." Spencer said and both me and Emily looked at him

"Have his blinds ever been closed?" Garcia asked

Shortly after Strauss left Aaron's office JJ did too, we all started to look away and I saw her walk over to Rossi's office. Aaron came out a few minutes later and walked down the steps towards us and we all grabbed our stuff and followed.

"How long have they been in custody?" Morgan asked him

"60 hours. We have 12 hours to get a confession or find the body."

"Syd Pearson has a lot of money and connections. If we let him go, we may never see him again." Spencer told us

"And Barrett?" Emily asked him

"He doesn't have the same resources."

"Do you think these guys did it?" Garcia asked

"The locals do." Aaron told as we headed out the glass doors

"They tried to get them to turn against one another, but that didn't work." Rossi pointed out

"It seems they have a bond that dates back to childhood." I said

"We only have a 30-minute flight. That's not enough time to delve into their histories." Morgan mentioned

"Bullet points on the missing woman. Second and third pages are all about the suspects." Garcia said handing out papers to us

"Garcia, we're gonna need phone records, credit card receipts, anything you can find." Aaron told her and the elevator opened and we got inside

"Yes, you'll have them when you get back."

* * *

Spencer went to the bathroom and JJ came out sitting next to Emily across from me and Morgan.

"Hey." Emily said to her

"Hey." she said and the three of us gave her a look, "I got this offer from the Pentagon. I turned it down twice. I never told Hotch or Strauss."

"And now Strauss wants you to take it." I pointed out

"Well, of course she does. It'll make her look good if you get promoted." Morgan added

"I don't trust her for a second." JJ says

"You shouldn't. What does Hotch think?" Emily asked her and Spencer came back out of the bathroom.

"He knows I don't want to go."

"Well, then you won't." Emily defended

"Penelope's pretty freaked out, huh?" JJ asked

"You have to ask?" I said

"Ok, let's review." Aaron said as him and Rossi walked over to us

"Ok. Kate Joyce, 19 years old, was last seen leaving a bar with these two men, Sydney Pearson and James Barrett, both 20 years old. She was reported missing the next morning when she didn't meet her friends. That was almost 3 days ago." JJ informed us

"Their story is they dropped Kate at the motel, but there were no cameras to confirm that." Rossi adds

"And search and rescue's been all over the island." Aaron said

"Dragged the inlet and they found absolutely nothing." Spencer tells us

"Both said they had sex with Kate. They're claiming it was consensual." JJ said

"There's no way to confirm. There's no body." I pointed out

"I doubt it was consensual." Morgan uttered

"We've got to prove they're guilty of more than just being seen with her." Rossi told us

"Well, the police weren't able to find any holes in their stories. We're gonna have to break them down psychologically." Morgan interjected

"Morgan, I want you and Prentiss to lead the interrogation. Dave, you, Elizabeth and Reid start at the bar. JJ, Kate Joyce's family is still at the station." Aaron told us

"Still? For 3 days?"

"They never went to the hotel. I want you to stay with them."

* * *

"Kate Joyce comes from a stable family. She went to good schools, got good grades, has good friends." Spencer said as we walked down the sidewalk

"Everything points to her being a total sweetheart." Rossi says

"You don't think she is?" I asked him

"I'm sure she is."

"But?" I asked

"She's 19. Everyone agrees-Kate wouldn't leave with those boys."

"But she did." Spencer told him

"Yeah. But why?" Rossi asked and we stopped walking, "Why would this girl, this sweetheart, take such a risk?"

* * *

"We don't have many images to go by." Spencer said as we enter the bar

"We saw enough to know what happened. Kate Joyce and her friends moved around a lot." Rossi told him

"The suspects didn't. They waited for her."

"A Sea of opportunity. Why was she drawn to those guys?"

"Well 19 year old girl, at a bar with friends, two boys come up to her and start flirting, any 19 year old girl would have fallen for their charm." I pointed out.

"Speak from experience?" Rossi asked me.

"No, not me, I was more into the guys who weren't a part of the high school popularity clique you know. It was mostly either bad boys, or the book worms, the jocks were always big headed egotistical jerks with their snotty cheerleader girlfriends." I said and Spencer glanced at me.

"What if she knew them?" Spencer asked

"Her friends never said that. She was only here a week." Rossi stated

"I think she trusted them." Spencer said to him

"Why?"

"She may have been testing her boundaries, but she's far too cautious to just go off with total strangers." Spencer speculated

"So she met them before Friday night." Rossi added

* * *

"We think Kate was comfortable with these guys." Rossi told JJ as we walked back into the station

"How? Their only other encounter was at the jet ski rental."

"The only documented encounter." Spencer said

"Garcia's running her friends' credit cards, too. They could have met someplace else." Rossi told her and we started walking

"I don't know. She's a smart girl." JJ said

"Well, they're handsome, charming, 19. You remember 19?" Rossi asked her

"She would know better than to be outnumbered."

"What if Pearson promised to dump Jim Barrett?" Emily asked us as we walked over to them

"And, what, Jim retaliated?"

"I could work that theory." Emily said

"When do we get the results?" Aaron asked the detective who walked up to us

"Any minute. So, what if they didn't do it? Then we're back to nothing?"

"One of them knows where Kate is." Aaron told him

"How can you be sure?" The detective asked him

"Because an innocent person doesn't sit quietly for 3 days. They get angry and defensive."

"These guys are going out of their way to appear calm and in control. They've got something to hide." Morgan pointed out

"Then why take the polygraph?"

" 'Cause they're stalling. Serial killers are kings of manipulation." Morgan told him

"Serial killers? Uh, there's only one potential victim."

"Serial killing is a qualitative characteristic. It not just about numbers." Aaron mentioned

"They've assaulted at least one girl before. It was only a matter of time before they did it again." Morgan says

"Barrett's a perfect match for Pearson. His family uprooted from the city, forcing him to adapt to his new surroundings. He's eager to fit in and quick to follow." Emily said

"And Pearson's definitely got the dominant traits. He's loud, he's physical, he's smart, he's charismatic, and he's privileged." Morgan added

"Sounds like a peach." Rossi said sarcastically

"You should talk to him." Aaron told him

"Love to."

"I'll take you to him." The detective said and Rossi, Spencer and I went with him

A few more minutes passed by and we finally got the polygraph results, Morgan walked away with the ones for Syd and I looked at Aaron and I went to the other kids room where Spencer was.

"Can you fix the damn camera, please?!" I hear the kid shout from inside the room and I walked in.

"Sit down." I said and Spencer looked at me as I put the results in front of him then stood behind him, "How'd you pass it?" I asked him.

* * *

"They sure know how to run out the clock." The Detective said as me and Emily entered the observation room where Morgan, Rossi and Syd were

"Yeah."

"What have we got?" I asked

"Less than 3 hours." The detective told me

"What do you think?" Aaron asked us

"Well, he's not smart enough to have done this by himself. He's always been a follower." I told him

"Pearson's charming enough to pick up a good girl, but Barrett was just along for the ride." Emily added

"Take a look at the photos." Aaron said and the detective handed Emily the phone and I looked over her shoulder

"Oh, she wasn't interested in Barrett at all." I said looking at the pictures

"But he's the one she met in the morning." Aaron mentioned

"All right. Well, we'll keep pushing. How's it going in there?" I asked him and his phone rings

"I wouldn't be surprised if Morgan turned off the camera in a minute." He said and left the room.

* * *

"The storm came through and separated the land. That's what made the inlet." Barrett said to me as I walked around him looking at a pamplet

"Huh. One thing you can trust is the ground beneath you, until one day it all just shifts." I said

"Is that some kind of a metaphor?" He asked me

"You tell me."

"It sounds like you're just trying to make some fancy point. That's all." Barrett said

* * *

"Kate's cell phone was left in the car and then later turned up in her room." Morgan told all of us

"How?" The detective asked

"We figure most of the story's true. That's why they never changed it." Aaron told him

"They did drop Kate off at the hotel. Pearson took Barrett home, just like they said. But then because Barrett was rejected, he circled back to punish Kate." I pointed out

"Well, why would she let him in?"

"Because he had this." JJ said holding up Kate's phone

"No sign of a struggle in the room." The detective says

"Barrett lured her outside, maybe drugged her, took her to his boat." Emily tells him

"He was obsessed with the inlet. He knew the traffic patterns there, when the fishermen were coming in and tourist charters were going out." Spencer said

"The blood from the catch attracts hundreds of sharks. It's a feeding frenzy out there that time of night." The detective told us

"We asked him if he killed her. He didn't. Asked where her body is. He doesn't know." I said

"Technically, those aren't lies." Spencer added

"How can you prove this?" The detective asked

"We'll get them to admit it." Aaron told him

* * *

"Why is the GPS on your boat missing?" I asked as me JJ and Spencer walked into the room Barrett was in

"It isn't."

"He tossed it after he dumped Kate." JJ said

"Who are you?"

"This. This was your ticket into her room." JJ told him holding up Kate's phone ignoring his question

"Who is she?" Barrett asked Spencer

"You said the inlet's quiet between 4:00 and 5 A. M. That's when you took Kate out, right?" Spencer asked him ignoring the question as well

"You didn't want the search party to find her, so you kept going. And going. You had 6 hours before work. How far did you get? About 75 miles out?" I asked

"A full tank on a single outboard motor will get you 150 miles. At 25 miles per hour, your round trip took just over 6 hours. Which is why you were late for work." Spencer concluded

"Oh, you didn't kill her. You just left her to die." JJ told him, "That's why you asked for a polygraph. You knew you'd pass it."

Barrett taps the table, "I think your time's up." He says and stands up

"Oh, yeah? Well, you took away their daughter, their dignity. You don't get to win. We're going to find her." JJ tells him

"You still think she has a chance, huh?" He asked and JJ walked out of the room, Barrett was about to but Spencer moved over by my and we blocked him

* * *

Emily is sitting in her chair, Spencer is sitting partly on his desk, Morgan is standing next to them and I'm sitting on Spencer's desk on the other side of him and Rossi is sitting by Emily when we see Aaron leave the round table room and head into his office shutting the door, we look up and see JJ sit down at the table in the round room.

After a while she walks up to us and we all turn to face her, "No." Emily said and we all stood up

"Wait a minute. I thought Hotch was supposed to-" Morgan started to say but JJ cut him off

"it's above his pay grade. Strauss', too."

"They can just take you away?" Spencer said sounding sad

"So, we do nothing?" I ask

"It's done."

"It can't be that simple." Morgan tells her

"It is."

"This job is hard enough. What are they trying to do, bury us?" Morgan asked looking at us

"You're too good. That's the problem." Emily pointed out

"It's true. You're on everybody's wish list. Our loss is somebody else's gain." Rossi said

They can't just take you away." Spencer said again and JJ walked over and put her hand on his shoulder.

* * *

I gathered up my stuff and headed to the elevator seeing Spencer standing there, I put my hand on his shoulder when I walked up to him.

"Are you okay?" I asked him and he shook his head, "Do you want to come over and talk about it?" He looked at me and nodded his head. We get in the elevator and head into the parking garage, as we reached our cars my phone chimes, I look down and it's a message from JJ.

 _Don't be afraid to tell him, follow your heart. I'll miss you._

I looked at it and smiled then looked at Spencer, I will tell him, just not right now.


	15. Chapter 15

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"It really is a melting pot of various immigrants' traditions and beliefs. It became a little more commercialized in the 1950s with trick-or-treat, and today it rivals only Christmas in terms of popularity." Spencer was telling Emily as they walked into the round room

"All I asked was what he was doing this weekend." Emily said sitting down

"I'm toying with the notion of either going to the Edgar Allan Poe Shadow Puppet Theater or the reenactment of the 19th century Phantasmagoria." He said and I looked at him

"You have a ticket to the Edgar Allan Poe event?" I asked him

"I don't want to know." Rossi says

"Oh, yeah, you do. Phantasmagorias are these amazing pre-cinema projected ghost shows invented in France, where the showman attempted to spook the audience using science magic. And it just so happens that I have an extra ticket." Spencer said and nodded my head disappointed, looked at Morgan then Garcia walked him

"Tempting." She said and started passing out our files "Guys, I wouldn't have to worry about losing my feminine curves if you all paid more attention to all the trees we're consuming around here."

"When did you become an eco-freak?" Morgan asked her

"Baby, I was born green." She said and I chuckled

"We're going to Detroit." Aaron said turning in the TV

"It's Halloween weekend." Spencer told him

"Arson investigators have noticed a 3-year trend in the days leading up to Halloween."

"Devil's Night." Spence points out

"This unsub is killing only these 3 days out of the year." Aaron tells us

"How's he doing it?" Rossi asked

"He's burning his victims alive. He's abducting seemingly random people and dumping their bodies in abandoned parts of town. He struck again last night."

"Yeah. Tony Torrell, 40. He lives in the suburbs, but he was found 20 miles away in the Rivertown District." Garcia told us

"He's attacking the city at its most vulnerable time." I said

"What does he do during the rest of the year?" Spencer asked

"He's dormant." Rossi said

"You know, arsonists are typically white males between 17 and 25 who can't stay away from fire." Spencer told us

"Yeah, they're addicted to it and there's no rehab." Morgan mentioned

"And they target dwellings, not people." Spencer added

"So you're saying he burns his victims alive but he's not an arsonist?" Garcia asked

"Fire is simply his weapon." Morgan told her

"And Devil's Night gives him the perfect cover to kill."

"Then we've got 48 hours before he disappears again." Aaron said

"Well, his last victim was athletic. He wouldn't be easy to subdue. The offender must be just as strong or might have an upper hand if he's younger." Morgan points out

"Still, how does he transport his victims across the city and get them inside buildings without being noticed?" I asked

* * *

"Now, I thought Devil's Night was Halloween Eve." I said

"The moniker "Devil's Night" is somewhat deceiving. In Detroit, it's actually a 3-day citywide cultural phenomenon, complete with masks, chaos, and costumes." Spencer and looked at me but I ignored him and looked at my file, normal I don't get mad at him, but he knows I love Edgar Allan Poe so why didn't he ask if wanted to go

"Say that 3 times fast." Rossi told him

"Sounds like Mardi Gras." Emily says to him

"Yeah, a violent one. Vandals and amateur arsonists literally set hundreds of fires."

"Who burns their own city?" Rossi asked

"It started as pranks in the 1930s but escalated in the 1970s with disenfranchised youth." Spencer added

"Well, given today's economy, it must be a free-for-all. They've got record-breaking unemployment and foreclosures, leaving a lot of displaced, desperate people." Morgan mentions

"And every single one of these victims suffered unimaginable pain." I said

"I'm sure that's what gets him off, watching them burn." Morgan says

"It gives him power and control." Aaron said

"The top of the whodunit list is first responders. Firefighters, arson investigators, cops, and paramedics." Morgan tells us

"Civil servants with a hero complex." Spencer says

"All of whom will be helping us." Rossi imputed

"This guy's angry." Emily points out

"Aren't they all?" Rossi asked her

"Not like this. Have you seen these?"

"Extreme anger usually manifests from a quick temper, but this guy's patient." Spencer adds

"I'm gonna ask Garcia to notify us the minute that someone's reported missing." Aaron says

"Burns 3 people annually. It's like his Christmas." Rossi mentions

"And the rest of the year he just plans- targeting his victims and then choosing the buildings he wants to kill them in." Morgan adds

"There's a flaw in his plan. We know about it." Aaron points out

* * *

"We're stretched as it is, but we've set up a joint task force with the Detroit P. D. to catch this guy." The captain of the fire department tells us

"It's pretty extensive." Spencer says to him

"I'd say don't profile me, but you're in a roomful of suspects, right?"

"A city full." Aaron responded

"Victims abducted across every socioeconomic divide." Spencer stated

"And this son of a bitch is about to burn a few of them alive." The captain said looking at the TV screen

"Problem is, we've gotta catch up." Rossi mentions

"And we know he's gonna be watching." Aaron added

"Well, we're gonna bust him this year." The captain tells him

"We've got two agents on the way to last night's crime scene."

"Great. I'll meet them there. I hope we find something soon. It gets dark early this time of year." The captain said

"And we'll head to the morgue." Aaron tells me and Rossi

"Hope you have a strong stomach."

* * *

"Gasoline was the accelerant?" Aaron asked the M.E

"Gas vapors collect in a low, enclosed space. When he ignited, those vapors burned down to his bone. We call this a fourth-degree burn." She tells him

"There's a fracture on the back of his skull?" Rossi asked her

"That's right."

"Was that postmortem?" I asked

"No, it was antemortem bruising. He was struck from behind."

"Blitz attack." Rossi says

"What's this on her face?" Aaron asked her pointing to the victim

"Charred fabric. All of the victims have the same material on them. The fire fused the original garment to his flesh, then burned away, leaving behind these remains."

"He's covering their faces?" Aaron asked

"That's my best guess, yes."

"He doesn't want his victims looking at him, even though we wants to watch them die." I said

"It could be a sign of guilt or inadequacy." Aaron mentions

"Now, wouldn't a guy like this want to see the terror in their eyes? Instead, he keeps them in the dark." Rossi adds

"He's covering their faces and setting them on fire. It's an execution." Aaron points out

* * *

"The first time I looked at these victims on the map, none of it made sense. 7 different victims, various ages, sex, and ethnicity." Spencer tells us

"What do you see now?" Rossi asked him

"The first victim..."

"Often tells us the most." Rossi added

"Tommy Proctor."

"Well, his rap sheet is longer than the Nile. It looks like he's always walked on the dark side." Rossi points out

"The first kill inspired him. What's different about it?" Aaron asked

"Two things. First of all, his body wasn't found for days. He was buried deep in the building." Spencer told him

"That often tells us that they know each other."

"Not to mention it took many botched attempts to burn them." Spence mentions

"Because the unsub didn't realize how difficult it is to actually burn a human body." I said

"Or it's overkill. He wanted Proctor to suffer the most." Aaron says

"Which definitely makes it personal." Rossi included

"If he knew the first victim, it's a good chance he knew them all." Spencer said

"We just have to find out how." Rossi adds

"We can start by talking to Tony Torrell's wife." Aaron says

"I'll do it." I told him and he nodded his head

"You talk to her first then I'll send Rossi in." Aaron tells me

* * *

"How you doing?" I asked Kiersten Torrell walking into the room she was in

"Uh... I'm fine. Uh, I'm here to see Agent Rossi."

"He's going to be with you in just a few minutes. I'm Agent Elizabeth Hotchner." I said shaking her hand

"Oh, I'm Kiersten Torrell. Uh... My husband Tony was killed last night."

"I know. And I'm very sorry. May I sit down?" I asked her

"Oh, yeah. Are-are you working on his case?" She asked me

"Yes, I am."

"Is there a picture of him in your folder? I want to see him." She tells me

"Kiersten, uh, your husband was very badly burned. I don't think that's a good idea." I told her

"What do you mean, he was burnt?"

"The person who did this uses fire as a weapon." I told her

"Was Tony set on fire alive?"

"We don't know that-" I told her and she leaned back

"Oh, my God. Oh, my God, this can't be happening. Ohh... Next week was our anniversary." She said and was atarting to cry

"I'm so sorry." I told her, my heart broke for her

"Are you married?"

"No, I'm not, and I can't imagine what you're going through. But everything you tell us can help us find the person who did this to Tony. I know this is hard, but I want you to try to remember that when you're talking to Agent Rossi." I said

* * *

"You make him sound like he's Freddy Krueger or something." The captain said to Rossi

"No, but I do think he's severely burned."

'It explains why he chooses this time of the year. He doesn't have to hide his scars." Spencer adds

"What about his victims?" The captain asked

"He's punishing them for wronging him." Aaron told him

"Wronging him? What about his second victim? Have you looked at Josephine Davis' life? She was the nicest woman in the world. How did she wrong this guy?"

"He's had interactions with all of his victims, some more personal than others." Aaron says

"So he's acting out of revenge. Kiersten and Tony didn't even speak to him." The captain said

"Maybe not that night, but at some point in the past." Emily told him

"Now, wait a minute. Josephine was abducted from her husband. Tony was abducted from his wife." Morgan pointed out

"You think these couples represent the happiness he covets?" I asked him

"Or something he lost. He's a young guy with a deformity. Major insecurities come with that."

"A trauma like that would be devastating for him and anyone in his life." I added

* * *

"Do you know how rare it is for an arsonist to be a burn victim?" The captain asked

"Less than 3.5%." Spencer answered

"This guy's not an arsonist. He's a serial killer who uses fire. And that choice of weapon tells us that he's aggressive, driven, and destructive, just like fire itself." Morgan said

"But why would someone so controlling choose the most unpredictable weapon?" I asked

"This juxtaposition tells us there's more going on with him than we realize." Spencer answered

"He's probably experienced some kind of loss these past few years that started him down this path." Rossi mentioned

"We should look at accidents where couples were burned." Aaron told us

"We're talking about hundreds of fires." the captain told him

"Focusing on ones where gasoline was the accelerant." Aaron said and Morgan's phone rings

"Leaving his victims in the heart of Rivertown, in the center of these buildings themselves, may be subconscious on his part, but it says that this affected his very core." Emily added

"All right, hold on." Morgan said and hung up his phone. "Somebody else has just been abducted."

"How do we know this is our guy?" The captain asked him

"Because his daughter said a monster took her daddy away."

* * *

 _"The victim's name is Christopher Edwards. He's 35. He lives in the suburbs._ Garcia told us

"What part?" The captain asked her

" _Birmingham."_

"How far is that from the Rivertown District?" Aaron asked the captain

"Not more than 40 minutes. He might already be inside."

"Let's lock it down. We'll trap him." Aaron said

"I'm going down there." The captain told him

"I'll go with you. Garcia, have Detroit P. D. set up roadblocks." Aaron told her

 _"Got it."_ She said and I stood up and Aaron looked at me

"I'm going with you, no arguments I said and we left

 **Spencer POV...**

Elizabeth had just left and I watched her go, why was she distancing herself from me? I saw Morgan look at me and I shook my head.

"What's on your mind kid?"

"Not important right now." I told him and they kept looking at me, "What?"

"What's going on?" Emily asked me

"I think Elizabeth is mad at me but I don't know why."

"Are you serious?" Morgan asked and I looked at him confused, "Kid, what were you telling us when you walked into the round room before we came here?"

"That I didn't know if I was gonna go to the Edgar Allan Poe shadow puppet theater or the reenactment of the 19th century Phantasmagoria."

"Yeah, and who do you know on this team is an Edgar Allan Poe fan?" Emily asked and I thought about it then it clicked.

 _"You have a ticket to the Edgar Allan Poe event?"_ I remembered Elizabeth asking me, "Oh"

"Yeah." Morgan said

"I guess I didn't even think about it." I said to them

"Why don't you ask her to go with you?" Morgan asked me

"I don't-I mean I-"

"Quit being nervous kid, ask her, I'm almost certain she would say yes." Morgan told me and I nodded, _I think I might just do that._

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Kaman Scott worked for Chris Edwards. He was fired 7 months ago." Aaron said as Rossi and Spencer walked up

"Why did he kill him here?" The captain asked

"Roadblocks forced him out of his comfort zone. Anything in the van?" Aaron asked them

"Welding equipment, cans of gasoline." Rossi said

"And a cage." Spencer added

"I'm getting everyone in the city down here on this." The captain said and walked away

"Without his car, he's going to lie in wait until he can't anymore. Then he's gonna lash out again." Aaron said and I sighed, Aaron and Rossi walked away and I stood there for a moment with Spencer then went to walk away but he stopped me.

"Liz..um" He said and I looked at him, "Listen, I-I'm sorry about what happened before we came here, it slipped my mind for a second when you asked me about the Edgar Allan Poe event and I um...I have an extra ticket to that as well if you would maybe like to join me." He said and I looked at him, _God I hate that I can't be mad at him_

"I would love to go Spencer, granted we make it back in time." I said and he gave a small smile.

"Okay, well it starts at 8 so maybe I can come get you at 6? We can get something to eat before and if we have time after maybe we can go to the reenactment of the 19th century Phantasmagoria as well." He said and I smiled.

 _Is he making this a date? No, he knows I like Edgar Allan Poe that's all_ , "Sounds great, but let's catch this guy first." I said and he nodded

* * *

"Garcia." Aaron said

 _"Friends, we're on 3-way."_

"What's going on?" Aaron asked

 _"Hotch, we found some pictures of Kaman's girlfriend at his apartment."_ I hear Morgan say

 _"So I blew up those pictures. In one of them she appears to be in a restaurant, so I zoomed in on the sign that says "o" apostrophe "s, " cross-checked that with restaurants in the area, and there are 5 diners. 3 are in the suburbs, 2 are in Highland Park, and one is in Rivertown."_

"What's the name?" He asked her

 _"Jay-mo's, and this appears to be Kaman's and that girl's favorite place 'cause all the pictures were taken there."_

"Have you heard of Jay-Mo's?" Aaron asked the captain

"It's a few blocks from here."

"Good work, Garcia. We're on the way." Aaron told her

* * *

 _"Hotch, a fire alert just went out, it's at Jay-Mo's diner."_ Garcia told us and Aaron sped up

"Backup's on the way." The captain says as we pull up to the diner that is on fire

"There isn't time." Aaron said and got out of the car with me following shortly after, he draws his gun and runs towards the building.

"All units, 565 East Jefferson. I repeat, all units, 565 East Jefferson. This is Lieutenant Al Garner, requesting available Fire and EMS Units. We got a man inside. Requesting additional alarms. Repeat, all units, 565 East Jefferson."

"Aaron!" I yelled and went to run after him but the captain held me back, "Aaron!"

Just then Aaron comes out with another person and makes it a few feet away before the diner exploded, the captain turned me away from it and when I looked back Aaron was on the ground.

"Aaron!" I yelled running over to him.

* * *

"BP's 84 over 36." The paramedic said as they wheel the owner towards the ambulance

"The owner's car was stolen." The captain tells us

"I need to ask him some questions." Aaron said making his way over

"He's in and out of consciousness."

"I'm with the FBI. Can you give me a thumbs-up for yes and a thumbs-down for no?" He asked the guy and he gave a thumbs up, "Did Kaman Scott do this to you?" Thumbs up

"We have 15 minutes to get him to the hospital." The medic said

"Do you know this girl?" Aaron asked holding up a picture

"Tracy. Tracy. Don't let him. Please stop him." The man said in a weak voice

"Is Tracy nearby?" Aaron asked and the guy raised his thumb, "Go, go." He said to the medics

"Hotch, you ran into a burning building?" Morgan asked him

"I didn't have a choice. Her name's Tracy. Kaman's trying to find her."

"That man put his life on the line to protect her." Spencer said from next to me, I was fuming that Aaron risked his life like that but I couldn't be mad because he saved someone

"So she means something to him." Emily said

"She means everything."

* * *

 _"Jay-Mo's real name is James Morris. He was married to Loretta Butler."_

"Does he have any children?" Aaron asked Garcia

 _"Yes, they has one daughter. Her name is Tracy Anderson. She was born in 1987."_

"Why does she have a different last name?" I asked

 _"When James' wife died, his sister Susan Anderson adopted Tracy."_

"And where is she now?" Morgan asked

 _"She currently lives in Ohio."_

"No, he says she's nearby. Where do the Andersons live?" Aaron asked

"Uh, Indian Village."

"That's 3 miles away." The captain said

"Let's go."

* * *

 _"Sir, I keep trying the Anderson house, but the line's busy."_ Garcia tells us

"He must already be there." The captain said

"Garcia, have any fires been reported in the area?" Aaron asked her

 _"Negative, but medics and fire suppression are on the way."_

"Good. Tell them to stand by." He told her

 _"Roger that. Sir, there's one more thing I gotta tell you."_

"What is it?" He asked

* * *

We make it to the house, Aaron and I have our guns raised while the captain follows us as we make our way around the house.

"I'm calling backup." The captain says as we look inside and see Tracy's aunt and Uncle sitting in chairs with their hands taped to each others

"If anybody moves, we're in trouble. We need a shooter." Aaron told him

"We're here. Your man wants everyone to hold their position. We need a single rifle. I say again, all units, hold your position."

 _"Copy that."_ Morgan's voice came over the radio

A few minutes later a SWAT guy comes running up to us, me and Aaron move out of the way as he kneels down and takes aim.

* * *

"Mommy?" I hear a little boys voice and see him walk into the room, "Mommy what's wrong?"

"Oh crap" I say and Aaron moves and heads towards the house, "Aaron!" I silently yelled at him.

"Kaman, drop it." I hear Aaron say from inside the house

"You shoot me, I drop this and they burn. Then what?"

"You move, you die." Aaron warned him

"I'm already dead. I ain't got nothin' else to live for." Kaman said

"Tracy, you need to tell him."

"Tell me what? What the hell's going on here?" Kaman asked her

"He needs to know."

"Kaman... While you were in a coma, I found out I was pregnant." Tracy said to him

"No..."

"I didn't know what to do. I thought you were gonna die. Baby, I'm so sorry." She said

"You're telling me... That's my son?"

"Kaman, you don't want to do this in front of your son. Put it down." Aaron told him

"Baby, if you don't do it for me, do it for him." Tracy tells him

"Don't you want to know his name?" Aaron asked him

"What's your name?"

"Daniel Kaman Anderson." The little boy said and touched the side of Kaman's face.

* * *

We all sat on the plane and headed back home, I walked over to Aaron and sat down in front of him, "That's twice now today that you scared me Aaron." I said and he looked at me.

"I'm sorry."

"You better be." I told him and leaned back in my seat, "Is Jack excited about being Spider-Man?"

"He's doesn't want to be Spider-Man anymore." He told me

"What? Why? He was so looking forward to it."

"I don't know."

"Well what's his costume now?" I asked and he shook his head.

"I'm not sure. Which reminds me he wanted me to give you something." Aaron said and reached into his bag and pulled out a zip lock bag.

"A black cat cookie?" I asked him opening it, "Sweet!" I said and took a bite out of it, "I have the best nephew ever." I said and Aaron smiled.

"Are you joining us for trick or treating?"

"I might be able to, Spencer is bringing me to that Edgar Allan Poe event." I told him and he raised his eyebrow at me, "Don't look at me like that, it's not a date."

"Sure it's not" He said and I got up and smacked him on the arm then walked over to Morgan, Emily, Rossi and Spencer.

 **Spencer POV...**

I got to Elizabeth's apartment and made my way up the steps, my hands were sweaty and my heart was racing, I was taking this beautiful woman who happens to be my best friend, to not 1 but 2 events tonight and before that we were getting something to eat. This wasn't a date was it? How can it be, she likes Edgar Allan Poe, it's just two friends going to an event, a spooky event. I reached her apartment and knocked on the door.

 _"Ow..damn it."_ I heard her say behind the door then it opened, "Hey, I'm almost ready I just have to grab my coat and my keys." She said and all I could do was nod my head, my heart stopped when she opened the door and I saw the dress she had on, she was wearing a knee length black corset dress, fishnet stockings and black lacy shin high heels. She looked amazing, well she always does but I couldn't keep my eyes off her as she put her coat on, I've spent so many nights dreaming about what it would be like to run my hands up her legs, put my hands in her hair, kiss her soft lips and neck inhaling that coconut smell I love so much, after I lay awake thinking about it I end up going to my bathroom to...well calm down. She is so perfect, so beautiful and wonderful, she makes me feel like I'm looking at an angel, I want her to be my angel. I will tell her some day, just not right now, right now I would just enjoy this time with her.

"Okay I'm ready." She said snapping me out of my thoughts.

* * *

We arrive back at her apartment after the events and Elizabeth is still laughing about everything that happened.

"I still can't believe how many freaking clowns I've seen tonight." She told me and I smiled, apparently she has a huge fear of them.

"At least only 3 tried to scare you." I told her and we stood in front of her door.

"Their just lucky I didn't have my gun." She said with a smile, I love her smile, "Thank you Spencer, other then the clowns I had a great time."

"You're welcome." I said and she pulled me into a hug, I didn't want to let go, _Don't let go, just kiss her._

"I better get some rest, who knows if we're gonna get called in or not." She said pulling away, before I knew it she leaned up and gave me a peck on the cheek, "Good night Spence." She said and unlocked her door then headed inside, I touched my cheek in shock, _It's just a good night, friendly kiss. Stop overthinking_.

I made my way down the stairs and stopped to look back at her door, "Why can't I tell you I love you?" I asked to myself and left.

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I watched Spencer leave through my peephole after we had a great night at the events, I sighed and leaned against the door, _Why did I kiss him on the cheek? Stupid idiot you should have went for his lips._

"Why can't I tell you I love you?"


	16. Chapter 16

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Two DC homes torched, two families, on the same night, last night." Garcia told us pulling up the pictures on the TV

"I'm surprised it still hasn't hit the news. It's already mid-day." Morgan says

"Yeah. All anyone's talking about is this storm that may or may not hit. I managed to find an online article about the fires written by this guy Jeff Hastings, but no one's running with it." Garcia says

"How strange. They usually thrive on tragedy." Rossi mentions

"Yeah, and it gets weirder." Garcia says and pulls up the images of the deceased families

"Ron and Lauren Cosenza and their 10-year-old son were found in the master bedroom of their home, each shot through the forehead. The gun belonged to the father." Aaron tells us

"Murder-suicide?" I asked

"Well, it looks like Metro PD's investigation is going that way, but it's still the first 48. They want our help." Morgan tells me

"Kerry and Frank Fagan, like the Cosenzas, were found in their master bedroom from a suspected gas leak." Spencer said from next to me, it had been a few months since Halloween, we basically went back to how things were, but it was hard because my heart was screaming even louder now to tell him how I feel, after I saw how he dressed for the events all I could imagine like I do all the time, is him kissing me, touching me and having his body pressed against mine.

"It had to be massive to cause that. How does the news miss a house explosion?" Rossi asked bringing me out of my thoughts

"Any connection between the families?" Seaver asked Garcia

"Only one. A continent. Kerry Fagan was born in Germany, Ron Cosenza is from Italy."

"So 2 of the 5 victims are from Europe. How does that help?" Morgan asked

"It doesn't. I'm just stating the facts, and the facts happen to be..." Garcia started to say but then Emily walked in

"Guys, I'm sorry I'm late."

"You ok?" Aaron asked her

"Yeah, it's just one of those weeks, I guess. I'm sorry. What did I miss? Arsonist?" She asked sitting down

"One appears to be murder-suicide, the other a freak accident." Morgan told her

"So why are we looking at it?"

"House fires are rare. Add to that a few Miles apart, within the same hour, kind of tips the scales of coincidence." Rossi adds

"Yeah, if somebody did this, they're highly motivated and organized." Spencer said

"And if he wants to strike again, he's got 72 hours before the storm shuts the city down." Aaron tells us and we all get up and leave.

* * *

"There is no history of any kind of psychological weirdness with either family. They were healthy, happy, fit." Garcia said walking into the round room where me, Spencer and Seaver are at, I noticed she was wearing a scarf and gloves

"Until last night. Any signs of financial stress?" Seaver asked her

"No. They were healthy on that front, too."

"What's with the..." I asked her indicating to what she was wearing

"Oh. The heat is out in my lair. Not a single snowflake has fallen and yet the weather remains the top news story."

"Nothing about these cases?" I asked

"No. They're bound to get hip to it. Once our presence is felt and we connect the cases, it'll be a ballroom blitz."

"Hmm." I heard Spencer mumble

"What is it?" Seaver asked him

"You know, considering the time these fires occurred, the habitual patterns of both families were in direct conflict with where the bodies were found."

"The master bedroom." I pointed out

"Yeah, normally Lauren Cosenza would be downstairs helping her son with his homework, and Ron wouldn't even be home from work yet." He said

"What about the Fagans?" I asked him

"Their routines were less established. They traveled a lot. But they were expected at a dinner party last night."

"If someone did this, what are the chances these victims are random?" Garcia asked

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I was looking at the phone records of the two families when I hear a bag being set down on the desk next to me making me jump, I looked up and saw Emily standing there

"I'm sorry."

"I thought you were in there." I told her indicating to the round room

"Are you ok?" She asked me

"Yeah, I'm... I'm... I'm sure these victims overlap somehow. Garcia pulled their phone numbers, but so far I can't find anything."

"You just jumped." She said

"I've been having these really intense headaches lately." I told her

"Have you seen a doctor?"

"Yeah, a few. None of them have been able to figure it out." I tell her

"Oh. I'm... Sorry. Does anyone know?" She asked me

"You, and well Liz." I said

"How is that going between you two?"

"I'm not sure, we kind of just picked up where we left off before. I mean we had a great time at those events on Halloween and when I walked her back to her apartment she thanked me and kissed me on the cheek." I told her, "I just wish I wasn't so nervous when it comes to telling her how I feel."

"Taking her to those events was a big step Reid, all you gotta do is keep trying, even if it's just the little stuff. What's her favorite candy or chocolate?" She asked me

"Favorite candy is skittles and favorite chocolate is truffles."

"There you go, try suprising her one day with one of them, or don't you guys usually hang out and watch a movie every now and then?" She asked and I nodded my head, "Maybe next movie night bring one of them over for her."

"I just wish the headaches weren't bothering me so much."

"I won't tell anyone." She tells me

"I know. They'd just worry. Not that you're not gonna worry, and I know Liz is but they'll just make me feel like a baby. You know?" I asked her

"I do." she said

"How are you?"

"I'm good." She said and I noticed she was picking at her nails

"You've been picking your fingernails again." I told her and she stopped

"Yeah."

"You only do that when you're stressed." I point out to her

"It's just a bad habit." She said and I looked at the papers again

"Aha." I said and gathered them up then stood, "You coming?"

"Yeah. I'll be there in a minute." She said and I walked away

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"The media blitz I promised never came. The original online article written by a one Mr. Jeff Hastings... pulled. So with your permission, sir, I would like to track him down and figure out what the hell is going on." Garcia was telling Aaron as they walked into the round room

"What's the connection?" Aaron asked her

"It's a small one. Both families coach soccer on the hill."

"The Fagans didn't have children." I told her

"No. But Kerry Fagan coached her godson's team."

"The two victims from Europe were the soccer coaches." Morgan says to her

"It makes sense, doesn't it?"

"I'm beginning to think that they've crossed paths before." Morgan adds and Spencer walks into the room and stands behind my chair

"I ran the victims' phone numbers. They never contacted each other, but there is a common number between them."

"Give it." Garcia told him

"Uh, 703-555-0118."

"Byron Delaney, his wife grace died last summer, children grown. What do you know? He's British." She said to us

"Garcia, send me the address. I'll grab Prentiss, Elizabeth you come too." Morgan told me and I nodded then stood up and followed him

"Sent."

* * *

"So what's your take on these guys?" Emily asked Morgan who was driving us to Byron's house, I was in the backseat behind her

"They're contradicting themselves, exposing bodies but then going through all of this to hide it."

"Do you think they wanted us on the case?" She asked

"Us, the BAU? Why would they?"

"Ego. Control. Some kind of agenda." She said to him

"I don't think we're even on their radar, Prentiss. Do you?"

"You're right. Why would we be?" She says and we pull up to the house only to see that the lights were off

"You sure this is it?" Morgan asked her

"Maybe nobody's home. Garcia never got an answer." Emily said and we got out of the car, just then we see men exit the house wearing masks and they raise their guns

"Prentiss, Elizabeth get down!" Morgan shouts ducking behind the vehicle as the men start shooting at us

"Move! Move! Keep moving." One guy says and they made their way down the sidewalk while firing at us, glass rains down on us when finally there was a break period. Me, Emily and Morgan had our guns out and both me and Emily started shooting.

"Look out!" I hear one man shout and he fires his gun again

"Ah!" I yell as I feel a bullet pierce my shoulder and I fall back against the SUV.

"Are you okay?" Morgan asked me as I held my hand to my shoulder

"I'm fine go!" I told him and he followed Emily down the line of cars

"Let's go. Get in the van."

"Ohh!" I hear one of them yell after I hear a gunshot, then I hear an engine start and the tires squealed.

* * *

I just get done getting checked out by the paramedic who told me that luckily the bullet went straight through but I have to wear a sling for awhile, I get up from the ambulance after he's done putting it on and I walked over to Emily and Morgan

"A kid with an assault weapon isn't just a kid anymore." Morgan told Emily as I approached, "You okay?" He asked and I nodded my head then we bent down to look at the body, "4 rounds total. That one's yours. You hit his femoral artery."

"He was dead and they knew it. Bet he didn't bargain on that when he signed up." Emily says

"He's got 2 shots to the head and then one in the wrist. Why the wrist?" I asked

"To make sure he can't return fire?" Emily questioned

"He was dead before his head hit the sidewalk." Morgan tells her and I look at the wrist

"He's got a tattoo, at least what's left of one." I said and they looked at it

"They blew a hole through the tattoo because we could have I.D'd him." Morgan points out

"So they're confident we can't I.D his face or prints." Emily added

"3 of the 6 victims are from Europe." Emily says as Morgan takes off his rubber gloves

"And the mini beryl says they're serious."

"We saw how they move. They've got be ex-military." Emily pointed out

"European hit squad cleaning house? It's happened before." Morgan said and Rossi and Aaron joined us.

"Are you okay?" Aaron asked me placing his hand on my good shoulder.

"I'm fine, just my prides hurt." I said and he gave my shoulder a light squeeze then let go

"They could have taken us out... easily. Why didn't they?" Emily asked

"FBI agents gunned down in DC would have definitely started a war. A war this kid wasn't prepared for. He's just a foot soldier. Whoever shot him is the leader." Morgan mentions

"Someone must have warned Byron Delaney to get out." Rossi tells us

"And whoever it is is next on the list." Aaron added

* * *

"Reid, you got anything?" Morgan asked him as we walked over to his desk, I leaned against it on the other side of him and I saw out the corner of my eye that he glanced at me then back at the paper he was drawing on

"The damage is pretty extensive, but luckily some of the tattoo remains." He said

"Seaver, get the victim's photo out to the press." Aaron told her and Garcia walked in

"I think I know who dug the hole. The journo told me to follow the money, like straight up, that's what he told me, so I did. It turns out "the gazette" is owned by a multinational global conglomerate... oil, new technologies, shipping, air and ground transportation, all of which employ the services of one company... CWS." She said

"Clear water securities?" Aaron asked her

"You know them?" I asked

"I've come across them. They're a private counterintelligence group out of Geneva."

"Ron Cosenza, Byron Delaney, Kerry Fagan all worked for CWS." Garcia told us

"How long ago?" Emily asked her

"7 years ago."

"Seaver, hang up." Aaron said

"Do we have a problem?" Rossi asked him

"No, CWS does." Aaron said and Spencer rolled his chair back

"Got it." He said and we looked at the drawing, it was a 4 leaf clover with a V at the end.

* * *

While Aaron, Rossi, Morgan and Emily were in the SCIF room I was sitting in a chair next to Spencer and I see him look at me, "What?" I asked him not looking up from my file.

"Are you okay?" He asked and I shut my file and sighed

"I wish everyone would quit asking me that." I said and he looked away, "I'm fine."

"I just don't like seeing you hurt." He said and I grabbed his hand.

"I'm fine Spence, it comes with the job." I told him and gave his hand a light squeeze then let go.

* * *

"Ok, Ian Doyle's officially on everyone's list. His mug is all over the place. He's not gonna be able to get out of the district unless he sprouts wings himself." Garcia tells us as we sat in the round room

"It's not that I'm not happy that we have his name, but how are we supposed to know who's on his list?" Seaver asked

"We study his life and every single person he's ever come in contact with." Morgan tells her

"Look, Doyle's been away for 7 years, but he still managed to figure out who the players were. Maybe we should start with how he got out of prison." Emily tells us and Rossi and Aaron walk in the room

"Well, where was he locked up?" Morgan asked her

"Russia, I think."

"Actually, there are no extradition papers on him." Seaver pointed out

"Was Doyle on your radar when you were at Interpol?" Aaron asked her

"Uh, sure, I had heard of him, but direct contact? I'd have to ask around."

"Do." He told her and she left the room

"Good guys and bad keep files close to them." Rossi says

"What are in these files?"Garcia asked him

"It's intel. Insurance. Protection. For times like this."

"Maybe I should go to Byron Delaney's house and see what I can find." Morgan tells Aaron

"Take Prentiss with you. She might have some insight." He said and Morgan left

* * *

"Here's the million-dollar question..." Garcia asked and pulled up an image on the TV. "Anyone know what language that is?"

"Those are villages in north Korea." Emily tells her

"I love you. Of course she does." Garcia said and sits down

"There's a political prison near Haengyong-ni. Camp 22. Kwan-li-so. North Korea denies it exists." Emily added

"You think they took Doyle there?" Morgan asked her

"That would explain why he's after them." Seaver says

"Even his prison is off the grid." Garcia imputed

"All we know is that he was never married, had multiple residences, and was arrested at his Tuscan villa." Seaver continued

"There's paperwork to back that up?" Emily asked her

"And a list of who was there that day. There may be photographs. Reid's looking into that now."

"Right. So those people need to be warned that he's on the warpath." Emily mentions

"They have been. But there's a whole different life he's led, one that isn't in any file." Seaver tells us

"Prentiss, did you hear from your European associates?" Aaron asked her

"I'm waiting for them to send me a document."

"We need it now." He tells her and she leaves

"He's locked in this hellhole for 7 years. How did he get out?" Rossi asked

"Does it really matter?" Morgan asked him

* * *

"You get a document from your contacts?" Aaron asked Emily as she came back into the room

"Bank accounts traceable to our first two victims. We might be able to match the rest of those faces."

"Good." Aaron says

"What else have you found?" Emily asked

* * *

 **Emily POV...**

"It's not often that we know a subject's name, and in this case, knowing Ian Doyle's identity doesn't give us very much." I hear Hotch tell the other agencies as me and Morgan enter the bull pen, "He's known to a select few, and those who know him well either work beside him or they're on his list. 2 or 3 of his victims worked for cws and were responsible for his transport to north Korea. There were 7 operatives on the mission altogether, and the remaining 5 have been warned. All the federal and international agents responsible for tracking him down are now on his list of targets. We'll find Doyle the way we find any other offender... By studying his behavior. We'll dissect his every move since he regained his freedom. When he escaped from north Korea, he killed a man and he used his vehicle to cross the border into Russia."

Hotch continued talking as I looked around the room, I looked at Seaver, she took over for JJ and was a nice girl who has been a valuable member of the team, I then looked at Rossi, he was like our Uncle, one you could always go to for advice, then I looked at Hotch, the father figure, he lost his wife and was doing everything he good for Jack even though it was hard with this job.

"You good?" Morgan asked me

"I'm good." I said, he was the brother to all of us on this team, one would lay down his life for you, they all would but he would protect like no other. I looked over at Elizabeth who was standing next to Reid, those two would be so good together if they would just tell each other how they felt, Elizabeth, she was not someone you wanted to mess with when it came to her loved ones, she had a big heart and always put others before herself, she had lost her best friend when Aaron lost Haley, she loved Jack more then anything and it's my fault she got shot and I have to live with that, Reid, our little brother, so innocent but yet so strong and he doesn't even know it, then I look at Garcia, oh Garcia, the momma bear to us all, I told her earlier today that she always makes me smile, and she does, she can see all these horrible things on her computers and yet still see the good and beauty in this world. I love them all, so much, but I can't keep putting them in danger.

I start to slowly back out of the room and exit the glass doors, I had to leave and finish this, otherwise they would never be safe.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"I got 4 names on the bottom of the list Prentiss gave us. Luke Renault, Lawrence Riley, Lila Rafferty, Lyle Rogers." Morgan said holding up a sticky note going over the names

"All with the initials L. R." Seaver points out

"The CIA uses cryptograms like that to assign to non-official cover agents working the same case." Aaron tells her

"So do other foreign countries. These last 4 names are covers... spies." Morgan tells us pointing at the paper

"Wait." Garcia said and took the paper, "No. This isn't right. Do you see this space?" She asked and pointed to it, "That shouldn't be here."

"Could it be a formatting error?" Spencer asked her

"No, this is a spreadsheet template. Formatting doesn't allow for this. There's a missing name on here."

"It's another spy whose cover is L. R." Aaron points out

"Lauren Reynolds is dead." Spencer says to us, "Prentiss said that on a phone call 17 days ago. But her intonation wasn't surprise or grief. It was like a mantra, like she was reminding herself. Lauren Reynolds, L. R."

"If Prentiss is the last name on that list, she's on Doyle's list, too." Seaver mentions

"That explains her behavior the past month. The secrets, the evasion." I said

"She's been biting her fingernails again, too." Spencer tells us

"Guys." Aaron said and we turn to see him holding Emily's badge and gun

"She left her badge and gun? Why would she do that?" Morgan asked

"That doesn't make sense. Why run? We're her family. We can help." Spencer says

"Doyle's killing families. She's not married, not close to relatives. He was ready to wipe us out. She ran to protect us." Rossi said

* * *

"She's a trained spy. She doesn't want to be found." Rossi mentions

"She knows all of our tricks. We don't know any of hers." Morgan adds

"All right, then how do we find her?" I asked

"Here's how. Ian Doyle is our unsub, Prentiss is our victim. We profile their behavior and we treat it like any other case. Because terrorism isn't an area we specialize in, I've reached out to an expert from the state department, someone who can also shed light on Prentiss' past." Aaron said pinning Emily's badge to the board

"Who?" Spencer asked

"Her." He said and we turn around and see JJ standing there.

"Let's get to work."

* * *

"Ok, so I talked to a friend from Langley. He couldn't give me Emily's full CIA history, but he could give me this." JJ said and brought up Emily's CIA file on the TV, "She assumed the identity of Lauren Reynolds as part of a special task force called JTF-12."

"I heard about them. They were profiling terrorists, weren't they?" Rossi asked her

"Yeah, assembled after 9-11. CIA and Western agencies contributed their best and brightest."

"But serial killers and terrorists have different personality traits." Seaver brought up

"How does Doyle fit in?" Spencer asked her

"He was their last case. And now the JTF is on his hit list. Jeremy wolff was victim number one, from Germany's BND. Sean McAlister at Interpol was the second. He's the one that brought the JTF in to work the Doyle case. He was murdered last week in Brussels with his wife and daughter. Tsia Mosely of France's DCRI. She got engaged to Jeremy earlier this year. After he died, she fled to D. C. And team leader Clyde Easter, British s. I. S. He hasn't checked in since Tsia's murder. He was also in D. C."

"Did JTF make the arrests?" Aaron asked her

"No, the host countries handled that. The team moved on to the next case."

"If all they did was deliver a profile, how does Doyle even know about them?" I asked

"Well, considering the shadowy nature of terrorist cells, they utilize a skill we don't... infiltration."

"Who was undercover on Doyle?" Spencer asked

"Emily. She made contact with him in Boston to get intel on Valhalla. She was posing as another weapons dealer." JJ tells us

"Look at how she's dressed. She seems awfully comfortable." Morgan said bitterly

"How close did she get to Doyle as part of her cover?" Aaron asked her

"The recon they did on Doyle included a background of all of his romantic relationships. Emily was his type."

* * *

"Sir, TSA got a hit on one of Clyde Easter's covers. He's on a plane to Boston as we speak." Garcia said walking over to us

"Have him detained as soon as he steps off. We need to go. Garcia, you're coming with us." Aaron told her

"Ok, yes." She said and they left

* * *

"Emily walked into a trap. It looks like Doyle got into the SUV, but from this angle, you can see that he didn't. Which I wish Boston PD would have told me before I started watching it. Sorry again for the screaming." Garcia said as we looked at the video footage

"She threw a flash-bang grenade into a car. She's lucky the 3 people inside didn't die. Is anybody else bothered by that?" Morgan asked

"Well, 3 bad guys." Rossi tells him

"Illegal as it is, I think Prentiss knows she has to be as ruthless as Doyle." Aaron says

"He's come to the US to wage a public vendetta and hired a group of mercenaries to remain loyal to him. He has nothing to lose, so she has to act the same way." Spencer mentioned

"So how did Doyle know she was waiting for him?" Rossi asked

"Well, the mole must have told him, right? The same guy who's been feeding Doyle the contractors and agents?" JJ questioned

"And our best suspect was just arrested with a suitcase full of cash. How do we get Easter to talk? He won't cooperate willingly." Seaver said

"I'll handle that. The rest of you focus on Doyle's location." Aaron tells us

"I hate to be the one to ask this, but how long does Emily have?" I asked

"Her best chance is also the most troubling. Doyle saved her for last because he views her as his stressor. Which means he'll take his time." Aaron tells us

* * *

"Get your hands off me! Do you know who I am? I'm the man!" I hear a guy yell as two cops drag him into the station

"Who's that?" Aaron asked asked

"Jack Fahey, Irish mob. He called Easter's cell phone 12 times in 6 hours."

"Any connection to Doyle?" I asked him

"Boston PD says he's low level. But the Irish mob has long-standing ties to the IRA"

"Elizabeth why don't you see if you can get anything out of him." Aaron tells him and I looked at him.

"Are you sure?"

"If anyone can get someone like him to talk it's you." Aaron told me

"I don't if I should take that as a compliment or not but okay." I said and walked away

* * *

"Why were you calling Clyde Easter so much, Jack?" I asked Fahey with Spencer standing next to me

"Anybody got a smoke? How about you, beanpole?" He asked Spencer and I looked at him

"What do you think?" I asked Spencer

"Narcissism masking deep-seated insecurity."

"So if we puncture his self-image, this hood rat will talk." I told him

"Hey, hey, hey, I ain't no hood rat. You take that back." Fahey told me

"Well, you look like one. You smell like one. You smell that?" I asked Spencer

"Hood rat."

"I am not! Take it back!" Fahey said defensively

"Hey, Jack." I said and leaned on the table with my good hand looking at him, "Do you know what a hood rat is?" I asked and he just looked at me confused, "You see what I mean? He's just gonna have to learn the hard way." I told Spencer standing back up

"All right, all right, look, Clyde was gonna pay my medical bills, all right? This ear, it ain't growing back."

"What happened to it?" Spencer asked him

"This bitch teammate of his shot it. Said it was a warning. Thought she could take on this IRA Big shot named Doyle. So I told these..." I had enough so I grabbed his wounded ear, "Aah! What the hell, lady?! Jeez!"

"Where's Prentiss?" I asked him as he squirmed

"Who? I don't know!"

"Lauren Reynolds. Where is Lauren Reynolds?" Spencer asked him and I let go of his ear

"Oh. Friend of yours, is she?"

"You tell us where she is right now, or I swear, I'll send you to a prison where they'll teach you what a hood rat is." I said to him leaning towards him again

"And by the time you do, she'll be in pieces. So, uh... My price just went up."

* * *

"200,000?" Seaver asked me and Aaron

"What other leverage do we have?"

"Is he an addict?" She asked looking at Fahey who was bouncing his leg

"He's having a nicotine fit. We wouldn't let him smoke." I told them

"We could use that. He'd relax, open his big mouth." Seaver said

"Is that enough?" Aaron asked her

"Well, I'm pretty good with narcissists. Dated a few."

"Take Rossi with you." Aaron told her and she walked away, "How did you get him to tell you that stuff?"

"I insulted him then grabbed his bad ear." I told him and he smirked.

"See, I told you that you could get someone like him to talk." Aaron said and I smiled and walked away.

* * *

"So, assuming Clyde isn't the mole, we looked through the JTF's personal records again, and Jeremy made some fancy plans before his death. Specifically, he bought a large estate in Spain..." Garcia tells me, Aaron and JJ

"He signed all the documents with one of his covers. Made a down payment in cash, deposited the rest." JJ said

"So Jeremy sold the list to Doyle." Aaron points out

"He was the first victim, killed quietly. Doyle didn't want any attention until he was ready." JJ told him

"Did Tsia know?"

"I can't tell. If I were running from a terrorist, I would cash in my IRA Not that one. The other... you know what I mean. My point is, Tsia didn't touch that money, so I don't think she's in on it." Garcia tells Aaron

* * *

"Ian Doyle's a power-assertive psychopath, highly controlling and very explosive when something doesn't go as planned." Clyde tells us

"Ok, so how does this fit in with who he is as a family annihilator?" Seaver asked

"And Prentiss' role in it." Rossi added

"Annihilators have a romanticized view of who their family is." Spencer points out

"Well, actually, he was an orphan." Clyde mentions

"Well, they think of family as their possession, until some law shatters that and starts them killing." Morgan says

"But Doyle was never married." Clyde tells him

"Children?" Rossi asked him

"No."

You wrote in your profile that he carried out his murders with surgical-like precision." Spencer tells him

"Yes."

"With no collateral damage?" Morgan asked

"That's right."

"Perhaps this child was a surrogate for one he had." Rossi inputs

"Say Doyle had a child and you didn't know about it. Is it possible that Prentiss did?" I asked Clyde

"Then why would she keep it from me?"

"Who else was in the compound the day that you arrested Doyle?" Aaron asked him

"Just his staff." Clyde tells him

"All Irish?" Aaron asked

"Yeah."

"That's a start." Aaron said

* * *

"I got him! I matched Irish immigration records based on Doyle's employees. Declan Jones, he's the only boy who matches. He settled in Boston 8 years ago, adoptive guardian Louise Jones." Garcia tells me, Aaron and Clyde

"I knew Louise Jones. She was Doyle's housekeeper." Clyde mentions

"Are they still alive?" Aaron asked her

"Declan and his mother went missing 7 years ago. Bodies were never found. Wait, what is this? Uh... God, someone took pictures of them being shot."

"Is there an address?" I asked

"That looks like a warehouse. It's gotta be big enough to house a small army. That's weapons, supplies. Let's see... which means it has its own perimeter. I got it, 1518 Adams street."

* * *

"Wait, wait, look at that." Spencer told Garcia as we look at the photos, "Morgan, come look at this."

"It's black clothing and a hand, Reid."

"No, look at the fingernails." he said and we focused on them

"Oh, my God!" Garcia exclaimed and I put my hand on her shoulder, it was Emily's hand holding the gun.

* * *

"Agent Prentiss is the only friendly in the building. Rescuing her is our primary objective." Aaron tells the SWAT team

"Our only advantage here is stealth. Once they know we're on site, there's nothing to stop them from killing her. So we keep it quiet until we get to her." Morgan says and they start to head out.

"Please be careful" I tell Aaron, he nods his head then leaves.

* * *

We all sat in the waiting room of the hospital, after Emily's fight with Doyle he stabbed her with a piece of wood and she was in surgery. I was sitting next to Aaron biting my thumbnail, he stopped me by grabbing my hand and I looked at him. A couple hours went by when finally JJ walked up to us, we all looked at her but could tell by the look on her face it wasn't good.

"No." Garcia said

"She never made it off the table." JJ told us, I put my hand over my mouth and closed my eyes, I felt Aaron pull me to him in a hug as I cried

"Spence." I heard JJ say

"I didn't get a chance to say good-bye." He told her

"Come here."

Aaron let go of me, stood up and left, I looked at JJ who motioned for me to come over, I got up and walked over to Spencer pulling him into a hug and he cried into my shoulder.

* * *

We walked through the cemetery while Spencer, Morgan, Rossi, Aaron and a couple other men carried Emily's casket. After they set it down Spencer came over by me, this time I held his hand like he did with mine at Haley's funeral as the priest did Emily's service.

After the funeral and the wake I went back to my apartment, I took off my shoes, put my keys in the dish and headed to my room to change, as I did I past a picture of me, JJ, Garcia and Emily at a bar, it was the first week after I joined the BAU and they invited me out with them, after that we grew close, Emily was such a good friend to me and always had my back. I felt tears sting my eyes as I continued to my room, as I was pulling my shirt on there was a knock at my door. When I looked through the peephole I saw Spencer standing there so I opened it.

"I don't want to be alone." He said in a sad voice.

"Come in." I told him and shut the door behind him

We sat on my couch and talked for hours, mostly about our memories with Emily and the team, it was after midnight when Spencer fell asleep on my couch, I put a blanket on him and looked at him, I loved this man so much and I'm to much of a chicken to say it. I finally got up and leaned down giving him a light kiss on the head and headed to my room and fell asleep.


	17. Chapter 17

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **A/N: There is going to be a lot of POV jumps here just a warning, also I lied to you guys a few chapters back but I'm not gonna tell you why your just gonna have to find out. MWAHAHAHAHA okay I'm done.**

A lot has changed the past 7 months, we grieved over Emily, Aaron told us due to budget cuts the team was going to be approached with offers to join different agencies, I however took time off while Aaron was in Pakistan working to take care of Jack. I loved spending this much time with him, but then something else happened but I'm getting a head of myself, let's go back a week.

 **JJ POV...**

"And how long have you been back with the bureau?" The Chairman asked me

"3 1/2 months, sir." I told him

"A lot has happened since then. Sabbaticals, transfers, reassignments. Four of you remained in the unit?"

"Agents Rossi, Morgan, and I were there with our technical analyst Penelope Garcia."

"Hmm. You had 14 cases in that time." He said reading off the file

"17, sir." I corrected

"Oh, yes. In 14 weeks. That's impressive."

"Thank you." I said

"But what's more impressive is the fact that you were reinstated, promoted, and suspended in that short time. I believe that's a record, Agent Jareau."

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Why aren't we in there?" Spencer asked

"They're just trying to intimidate us." Rossi told him

'Well, that's not about to happen." Morgan mentions

"I'm not ok with this." Garcia said and I put a hand on her shoulder

"You may not even be a witness." Rossi told her

"Sir, I'm not worried about me. Don't they have anything better to do than-"

"Baby girl, this is just what they do." Morgan told her and Strauss walked over

"Anything?" Rossi asked her

"It doesn't look good."

"How long is she gonna be in there?" Spence asked

 **JJ POV...**

"Two days?" The chairman asked

"That's correct." I told him

"How can an investigation be active for just two days when the gathering of intel took months? There's surveillance and hundreds of man-hours to prove it."

"Yes, that's true, but-" I started to say but he cut me off

"How often do you spend months on a case, Agent?" He asked

"We don't, but this one was-"

"Personal?" He asked cutting me off again

"Different. It required a lot of detail."

"If this was too big for your team, why wasn't it a joint task force?" He asked me

"We didn't have time, sir. Once the subject was confirmed, we had to act quickly." I told him

 _2 Weeks Earlier_

Me and Morgan opened the lower level door of the place Doyle had been staying at and made our way up the stairs and into the apartment, we cleared the place when we heard clanking come from the closet, Morgan opened it and we saw a and part of the ceiling moved away into what looked like an air duct.

 _2 Weeks Later_

"Do you realize what you've done?" The chairman asked me

"Yes. We put an international criminal with terrorist connections in federal custody."

"You may consider that a victory, but you used government funds for a personal vendetta, never called Homeland Security, and now 6 people, including two of your agents, are dead."

* * *

"Interpol, Europol, the CIA. No one could locate Ian Doyle, except Agent Morgan." He points out

"Well, it wasn't easy. Doyle disappeared underground." I told him

"It looks like Agent Morgan spent the first few months following Doyle's arms-dealing contacts but came up empty. So, how did he find him?"

"After hitting dead ends in that world, Agent Morgan put himself in Doyle's shoes and knew that he would be looking for his son, Declan." I said

* * *

 **Morgan POV...**

"Ok, Emily needed to get Declan a new identity. So she must have used someone she trusted." Garcia told me walking into my office

"All right, well, that's a short list, but it's probably not even written down. Even if it was, she's had contacts all over the world." I told her

"Oh, tell me about it. Two columns- domestic and imports." Garcia said and JJ walked into the doorway"

"Hey. You guys seen Spence?" She asked

"He's at the firing range." Garcia told her

"Again?"

"Ever since Prentiss died, he..." Garcia added

"Right. Uh... Did you guys just get a new case?"

"It's just an old one." I told her

"Do you want some fresh eyes?"

"Not just yet." I said

"Ok. Um, well, let me know." She tells me then leaves

"Shouldn't we tell her?" Garcia asked me

"Garcia, this has been a long shot for 6 months. Why get her hopes up?"

"What about Hotch?" She asked

"He knows I'm doing this." I told her

"He does?"

"Not technically, but he knows I'm not about to let Doyle roam free." I mentioned

"Does he know we're looking for Declan?"

"I just figured I'd call him when I have something to report." I said

"Ok. But it feels weird not sharing." She tells me and grabs a file

"Baby girl. You don't have to do this."

"I know." She said

* * *

"Did you trust Agent Jareau?" The chairman asked me

"I did."

"But don't anymore." He concluded

"I didn't say that." I told him

"You left her out but involved Penelope Garcia, whom you trust." He adds

"That is not why."

"Isn't it?" He asked

"Her specific skills were very helpful."

"For your vendetta." The chairman tells me

"For justice."

"You don't believe in the system." He points out

"Ian Doyle wasn't at the top of anyone's list, Senator." I told him

"Except yours."

* * *

"I'm thinking domestic contacts. Em was already in the states when she faked Declan's death, so... Her associates must be in Boston?" Garcia asked me

"No, Garcia, she would have covered her tracks better than that. All right, why did Prentiss join the BAU?" I asked her

"To have a normal life."

"She could have gone anywhere with her skill set, but she chose D. C." I pointed out

"Maybe to be close to her mom?" Garcia asked

"No. No way. That was just by default. Garcia, she did all of this to protect a child." I told her

"Right. So you're saying she came here just so she could be close to the kid."

"And if she did, she probably had people she could trust living right here." I said

"Right. So domestic contacts. There are surprising few in our nation's capital." Garcia said and grabbed a piece of paper, "One of which is dead. Ben Corelli."

"He was the forger. Doyle killed him and Prentiss' friend. He worked out of his apartment, remember?"

"Yeah. And we processed his belongings." Garcia mentions

* * *

"Thanks." Garcia told the agent as he brought in a bag, "This would have been a heck of a lot easier had he gone digital." She said to me

"Garcia, there's an art to all of this. This guy was meticulous. Definite control freak."

"Yet he's dead. He couldn't control that." She said

"There can't be a lot of I.D's for children." I told her

"Actually, you would be surprised." She said and dumped the bag out

"Ok, wait a minute. Didn't Prentiss live in Reston, Virginia, for a while?" I asked her

"Yeah. Before we knew her, she rented a big house in a cul-de-sac."

"Ok, why would she live way out there?" I asked

"To be close to Declan." She says

"Mm-hmm."

"Who had blond hair and blue eyes." She told me

"Well, I'm sure they've changed his hair color by now." I pointed out

"Yeah, but you can't change those cerulean blues." She said and handed me a passport

"Ok, here's the nanny. Garcia, she still lives in Virginia."

* * *

"You watched Declan for two months." The Chairman tells me

"I knew if I could find him, it was only a matter of time before Doyle did."

"Around-the-clock surveillance requires constant presence." He mentioned

"When I wasn't in the field, I was there." I told him

"And when you were on a case?"

"I set up pole cameras for surveillance." I said

"Under what authority, Agent?"

"Senator, I needed to protect this child because I knew Doyle would find him eventually." I told him

"And what was the plan once you found Ian Doyle?" He asked

"Lock down security on his son and then move in on Doyle."

* * *

"It's him. I'm pretty sure it's him. It's blurry and, you know, he's not like posing for the camera or anything like that, but you said he'd come and it's been a while and now he's here and-" Garcia said walking up to me

"Garcia, Garcia, calm down. Let me take a look."

* * *

 **Garcia POV...**

"That's when Agent Morgan initiated the assault on Ian Doyle."

"What? No, it doesn't work that way, sir. Agent Morgan called Hotch- excuse me, our unit chief." I told him, my heart was racing because I was so nervous

"Who was on temporary duty. I imagine he wasn't easy to find."

"When the team downsized, he was assigned to lead an investigative task force." I told him

 **Morgan POV...**

 _"Hotchner."_

"Hey, it's me. How's it going out there?" I asked him

 _"You know, long days, some territorial issues to work out. Nothing surprising. How's everything there?"_

"Hotch, we found Declan Doyle." I said to him

 _"What?"_ He asked me

"Listen, I knew that finding the kid was the only way I could find Doyle, Hotch. I know what you're thinking, man."

 _"Is Declan safe?"_ He asked

"Yeah, he is for now. I've had surveillance at his house and his school for a few weeks." I told him

 _"Morgan, I didn't authorize this."_

"I know you didn't, Hotch, but listen to me. I think Doyle may have found Declan, too." I mentioned

 _"All right, I'm coming back."_

"You want me to wait?" I asked

 _"Morgan, it could be a trap. You make sure you have eyes on Doyle."_

"And if it is him?" I asked him

 _"Then you take the shot."_

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

 **"** I can't find him." Spence said on the phone to JJ, "The headmistress said Declan got sick and went home." He said and there was a pause, "We're already here. Their car's out front."

"The lights are off." I told him and Rossi

"I'll call you back." He said and hung up his phone and we pulled out our guns entering the house. Spencer opens the door with me behind him and Rossi behind me, Rossi went towards the kitchen while me and Spencer headed upstairs. We enter a room and see a body on the ground, Spencer walks over and checks for a pulse when Rossi walks in.

"I'll check the back. You take the hallway." He tells us and we make our way into the hallway, Spencer checks another room and I look and see a closet door cracked open, I slowly moved towards it, when I opened it a body fell out and I let out a squeak which got Spence's attention and he came over to me.

"Sorry, scared me." I told him and he bent down to check for her pulse as well and Rossi came up behind me

"Must be the nanny." Spencer says

"3 bodies and no kid." Rossi points out

"Doyle's got him." I said

* * *

 **Morgan POV...**

"The squad car that went by got Doyle's attention, we had to move quickly. Agent Hotchner said if we have the shot. Take it."

"Why didn't you let him take the shot, Agent? Because a bullet to Ian Doyle's brain  
would have ended his life too easily? You wanted him to suffer." The chairman tells me

"He deserved the same beating he gave Prentiss, but I did not unleash that on him, Senator."

"No, you didn't. Instead, your actions put an innocent child's life on the line." He says

 **Rossi POV...**

"Have you ever been in the field?" I asked the chairman

"I have. But I'm not the one on trial, Agent."

"Then maybe you can imagine what it was like for Agent Morgan to find Emily Prentiss dying... At the hands of Ian Doyle. Now ask yourself... Was it wrong for him to want to take that man out?" I asked

* * *

 **Morgan POV...**

"Forgotten where I've been, Agent? Places far worse than this." Doyle said to me

"Doyle, where's Declan?" I asked him

"Don't play dumb. You found him a month before I did. He's living in that lovely little house our friend set up for him. I should have found him sooner. Finally remembered she likes cul-de-sacs."

"Where is Declan right now? You expect me to believe you had nothing to do with his abduction?" I asked him

"And you expect me to believe this isn't part of the strategy? You tell me my son is missing when I know he was safe a few hours ago? You'll have to get more creative." He told me and I leaned on the table

"Listen to me, you son of a bitch. I am not playing games with you. If you care about anybody other than yourself, you'll give me a list of who would have done this."

"Why would anyone take Declan?" He asked me

"You tell me."

"No one even knows he exists." He points out

"Someone does. Because when we followed you to that little rat trap, somebody took him from his house. Somebody else was watching you, Doyle. Now tell me who."

"I don't know. I don't." He said

"Your son is missing. So think." I told him

"I don't know."

 **JJ POV...**

"How long has Agent Morgan been looking for Doyle?" Strauss asked me as we stood in th observation room.

"The night he killed Prentiss in Boston. He refused to believe Doyle just vanished." I told her

"He's been investigating Doyle for 7 months?"

"Mm-hmm." I said and looked at her, "Are you surprised?" I asked her and she sighed, "He seems genuine."

"Well, of course he does. He's a master manipulator."

"See his carotid?" I asked her and we looked at the screen, "His heart started racing when Morgan told him about Declan. The tightness in his forehead, his darting eyes, are signs of real concern."

"Well, if he didn't take his son, then who did?" She asked

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

 **"** Don't worry, Garcia. You were busy looking for Doyle." Me and Spence hear Rossi say then he hung up his phone, "She didn't see a team on the footage."

"This was well-organized. One could have cut the camera while the other started in here." Spencer told him as they Coroner took the dead agent away

"So they cut off the power, but no signs of forced entry. So how do you overpower two armed agents?" Rossi asked

"A male and a female. Maybe whoever did this posed as the next shift?" I pointed out

"Makes sense. Everything about them seems efficient." Rossi told me

"Except they took the time to shove her in the closet." Spencer added

"So it's personal and professional." Rossi says

* * *

"Only Declan and the caregiver live here, so whose stuff is this?" Spencer asked as we looked at the clothes in the closet

"40 long." Rossi said

"You still think Doyle's behind this?" I asked him

"He's capable of a lot of things, but being two places at once isn't one of them."

* * *

 **Morgan POV...**

My phone beeps as I'm in the room with Doyle, it was from Hotch

 _Suspect is Richard Gerace_

"Doyle, do you consider Richard Gerace an enemy?" I asked him

"I don't consider him at all."

"Tell me about him." I told him

"Gave him a nasty scar in Belfast 20 years ago. Hasn't been my problem since."

"Whose problem was he?" I asked him

"She won't help." He told me

"Why not?"

"Because I killed her." He said, _Emily_

* * *

 **Aaron POV...**

"He was referring to Agent Prentiss?" The chairman asked me

"That's correct, sir."

"The government spent 17, 400 on her funeral and another 642,000 on medical expenses. But this is no surprise to you." He said

 _2 Weeks Earlier_

 **Elizabeth POV...**

Spencer, Garcia and I stood in the round room as Morgan, Rossi, and JJ walked in, "You get anywhere with Doyle?" Spencer asked Morgan

"Doyle doesn't think Gerace has the guts to take him on."

"But that's definitely Gerace on the tape." Garcia said and sat down then Aaron walked in.

"Welcome back." I told him

"Thanks. Everybody have a seat." He said, Rossi and Spencer sat down while I stayed standing between them

"Why? What's going on?" Morgan asked

"Everything all right?" I asked

"7 months ago I made a decision that affected this team. As you all know, Emily had lost a lot of blood after her fight with Doyle. But the doctors were able to stabilize her." He said and my heart stopped, "And she was airlifted from Boston to Bethesda under a covert exfiltration. Her identity was strictly need-to-know. And she stayed there until she was well enough to travel. She was reassigned to Paris where she was given several identities, none of which we had access to for her security." He said and all I could do was stare at him in shock

"She's alive?" Garcia asked with her voice breaking

"But we buried her." Spencer said and I put my hand on his shoulder

"As I said, I take full responsibility for the decision. If anyone has any issues, they should be directed toward me." Aaron said to us

"Any issues? Yeah, I got issues." Morgan said with anger but we all turned when we heard footsteps come into the room, it was Emily

"Oh, my God." Garcia said and I looked at Aaron then back at Emily.

* * *

"I am so sorry. I really am. Not a day went by that I didn't want to..." Emily tells as she hugs me, Spencer and Garcia then looked at Morgan, "Really, I- you didn't deserve that and I'm so sorry." She said and hugged Morgan who was reluctant to hug her back, "There's so much I want to tell you guys, and I will. I promise. But right now I really need to know what's going on with Declan." She said moving towards Aaron and JJ

"Emily, was there a man living at the house?" Spencer asked her

"Yes. My friend Tom Koehler. He was raising Declan as his own."

"Where is he?" JJ asked

"I never saw him go in or out of that house." Garcia told her

"He was on assignment overseas."

"But he's all right?" I asked

"Yes. He's on his way back now. He got a call from Declan, he called me, and when I landed, Hotch told me that you had Doyle in custody." She said

"And because of Tom's line of work, that's why you enrolled Declan in a boarding school." Aaron pointed out

"I made sure that he, Louise, and I were the only ones allowed to take him off campus." Emily said

"Louise took him home last night because he was sick." Spencer told her

"Food poisoning." Aaron adds

"Yeah, a few of the kids had it, apparently. So whoever did this got to him on campus. They knew they only had one chance." Spencer mentioned

"Current suspect is Richard Gerace. He's the most recent arrival into the states. We've been tracking his progress through the city, but we came up empty." JJ told her

"But we know it's him because he has the scar." Garcia adds

"That doesn't make sense. Gerace gave up on Doyle a long time ago." Emily tells us

"He said you were the only one who knew Gerace." Rossi said to her

"Which is why I'm pretty sure he doesn't have the balls to pull this off. There was no forced entry at the house?" She asked

"I had two agents working security." Morgan told her

"We think Gerace and his partner posed as the next shift, and one of the agents was a woman." I told her

"She's the Alpha."

"So we're looking for a woman who's getting back at Doyle." JJ points out

"And our suspect list just got a whole lot longer." Emily adds

* * *

"These women are associates of Doyle's who may have crossed paths with Gerace." Emily said as we looked at the images of the women

"Anyone have a deeper personal connection with Doyle?" Morgan asked her and she shook her head and shrugged

"Whoever took Declan showed a lot of rage at the nanny." Aaron points out

"She had been with Doyle since before Declan was born." Emily says

"The nanny represents a caregiver, a mother figure." Spencer mentions

"Who is Declan's mother?" Aaron asked

"Doyle told me she was dead."

* * *

"She brought tainted cupcakes to the boarding school and just walked right in." Morgan said as we watched the video footage

"Oh, that is creepy." Garcia says

"We thought Doyle was bad. Check her out." Rossi tells us looking at a file

"Yeah, she ran an international prostitution ring before moving on to chemicals." I said standing next to Spencer

"Distribution and trafficking, manufacturing, possession, weapons charges?" He asked

"Went away for 3 years." Morgan says

"That's it?"

"She hardly seems like the mothering type. Why would she take Declan?" JJ asked

"It isn't love." Aaron says

* * *

"Forgetting the international ties for a minute, what would these unsubs do?" Aaron asked us

"You know, statistically the abduction of a child by its mother, no matter the psychological disposition of said mother, would be one of low risk to a child." Spencer points out

"She's got plenty of connections. She could go underground." Morgan mentions

"Is there anywhere in the U. S. where Chloe and Doyle had a history?" Rossi asked Garcia

"No. But they do have a lot of ties in Europe."

"Doyle came up with associates of Chloe's who have healthy bank accounts." Emily tells Aaron handing him a piece of paper

"He thinks it's a trade?" JJ asked

"For what, weapons? Drugs?" Garcia asked as well

"Does it matter?" Emily asked them

"Garcia, run these names. See if any have local connections." Aaron told her handing her the paper

"Yeah. What else should I be looking for, you guys?"

"Secluded properties." Rossi says

"A legitimate business that requires international bank accounts and trade." Morgan added

"It could be mundane they survive under the radar." Spencer points out

"Garcia, start with Irish backgrounds. This type of feud could go back generations." Morgan told her

"Oh. It looks like the Doyles and the McDermotts have a thing."

"What kind of thing?" He asked her

"Ian Doyle murdered Jimmy McDermott, but his younger brother Lachlan owns an import company."

"Do they ship internationally?" Aaron asked her

"You know it. He has 3 warehouses, once of which is slated to be demolished." She told him

"Where?"

"Inner Harbor, Baltimore." She said

"Let's go."

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"I trust you called the Baltimore City Police." The chairman said to me

"No, sir."

"Certainly the harbor police." He tells me

"No, sir."

"Why didn't you? The last I checked, it takes and hour to drive from headquarters to Baltimore. And I see your phones were working." The chairman tells me

"We didn't want to risk Declan's life with police presence, we felt that if they showed up before us there would have been a shoot out and the child would have been in even greater danger."

"You all felt that way or Agent Prentiss felt that way?" He asked me and I fought back the urge to roll my eyes.

"We all did, sir, as a team." I said defensively, "But by the time we got there Chloe had killed Gerace because he was dead weight and she thought she could get more without him."

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Your ex is working with Lachlan McDermott. How would he leave the country?" I asked Doyle when I walked into the interrogation room

"I don't know. He's got endless funds. You'll never stop him."

"He hates you, doesn't he?" I asked

"More than you do."

"Then I think we should give him what he really wants." I told him and he looked at me, "You."

 **Emily POV...**

I sat down on the bench outside the courtroom, Elizabeth was standing away from me leaning against the wall and chewing on her nail, she really needed to quit that habit, I felt someone sit down next to me and I saw JJ, she smiled and I looked back at Elizabeth when Reid walked up to her. They started talking and I saw Spencer pull her hand away from her mouth putting it back down to her side, but he didn't let it go, I looked at JJ with question then back at them and I see Spencer pull her into a hug kissing her on the head.

I look at JJ again, "When did that happen?" I asked her and she smiled.

"5 months ago." She said and I smiled looking back at them, they had pulled away at this point but only because Reid was called in, "They haven't told anyone, not even Hotch. I only know because I caught them both asleep snuggled up on my couch when they were watching Henry one night." She said and I nodded my head.

"My lips are sealed."

 **Elizabeth POV...**

After Spencer went in I leaned back against the wall, it had been 5 months, 5 months since me and Spencer finally told each other how we felt and I remember it like it had just happened...

 _ **5 Months ago**_

 _I just put Jack to bed and sat down on the couch turning on the TV when my phone chimed, I saw a message from Spencer asking if he could come over. 20 minutes after I replied yes there was a light knock on my door so I got up and answered it._

 _"Hey sorry it's so late I just.."_

 _"Spence it's okay, come on in." I told him and shut the door behind him, "We just have to be quiet I just put Jack to bed." I said and we sat on the couch._

 _"How's it going with him?" Spencer asked me and I turned to face him._

 _"It's going great, I'm so happy I get to spend this time with him while Aaron's away. Not like I don't miss Aaron but it's just me and Jack, I couldn't be happier." I told him and he smiled._

 _"You ever thought about kids?"_

 _"Random." I said and he chuckled, "Yeah actually I have, I know it would be hard with our work schedule but that means nothing if I have the right guy in my life." I said and Spence cleared his throat._

 _"Listen Liz, I want to tell you something, and I need to get it out because if I don't I'm going to crazy."_

 _"What is it?" I asked him_

 _"Remember when I was poisoned by anthrax?" He asked and I nodded my head, "Well I had Garcia help me record a message for my mom, telling her I love her and that I was proud to be her son." He tells me_

 _"Spence.."_

 _"The thing is I um...recorded another message, a message for you." He said and I looked at him confused, "On that message I told you that I'm in love with you." He told me and my jaw dropped, "I have for a while now but I've been to shy to say anything and I understand if you don't feel the same but I..." He said but I cut him off._

 _"Spence," I said and he looked at me, "I'm in love with you too." I told him and I couldn't tell you who did it first but the next thing I knew we were kissing, finally kissing, we told each other how we felt and now here we are._

And that was the best day of my life.

 **Spencer POV...**

"You're the one who suggested Ian Doyle be released?" The chairman asked me

"I am."

"And you're the only Agent who has not requested reinstatement to the unit." He points out

"Mm-hmm."

"Was the decision to release Ian Doyle a personal one?" He asked me

"A young boy's life was at stake. I ran the probability of his survival and it wasn't good. If you want to punish me for taking a risk, then I encourage you to do that, but do not put the rest of my team on trial for something that I suggested."

"Calm down, Agent." He told me

"This is calm, and it's Doctor."

* * *

"No, we are not letting him out of here, Reid." Emily tells me coming into the room

"Emily, I will chain myself to him if I have to." I told her

"He'll find a way to escape."

"No, he won't, and we're running out of time. If we find McDermott now, we have a chance to save Declan." I told her

* * *

"The United States government is not in the business of trading captives." The Chairman told me

"New York City, July 2010, referred to as the spy swap. Igor-" I said but he cut me off

"That's enough."

"You can't just change the rules, sir." I told him

"And you just can't break them."

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Lachlan McDermott and Chloe Donaghy, this is the FBI." Aaron calls to them over a mega phone as me, Rossi, Morgan and JJ raise our guns, "We know you have Declan. To ensure his safety we would like to trade. We will give you Ian Doyle and you send us the boy." He said as Spencer and Emily got out of the helicopter with Doyle and the stairs to the plane lowered, Lachlan and Declan walked out after.

"Bring Doyle here!" He yelled and both Emily and Spencer walked Doyle over, I briefly caught Spencer's eye and he nodded, "I want him here on his knees!"

"Hotch, are we really gonna do this?" Morgan asked him

"No one leaves here."

After a short be we see a woman exit the plane, she looked like she had been shot, "Gun!" Morgan yelled and she shoots Doyle in the throat, Spencer fired his gun and missed her, she shot at Lachlan killing him, Spencer fired again hitting her in the chest and she fell down. I walked over and saw Emily holding Declan who grabbed his father's hand

"I remember you."

"Sorry, son." Doyle told him and he died.

* * *

 **Emily POV...**

"This team took many unprecedented risks. None were approved. The DIOG has rules, and you chose to ignore every last one. That's blatant disrespect to the bureau and to authority of law in general. What I find interesting is that you are the experts in behavior but find nothing wrong with yours." The chairman tells us

"May I?" I asked him, "The journey was not traditional, but this team neutralized 4 international criminals and saved the life of a young boy in the process."

"You started a war with Ian Doyle years ago that this team and the U. S. government had to finish. The rest of you are dismissed. Agent Prentiss, we're not done." The chairman told me

* * *

"Hey." Rossi said coming up to me, "I never thought we'd be taking one of these down." He said and started pulling on my picture

"I already tried. It's screwed in."

"You're kidding me." He said and Garcia walked over

"I got this." She said holding up a screwdriver which Rossi took from her

"Perfect."

"I also have Sergio." She said and I smiled

"Oh, I knew you would."

"I need visitation rights." She tells me and I chuckle

"He's a love, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he's takes after his mom." She says and the others walked over but Morgan walked past us, Hotch follows him and they talk then Strauss walks past Aaron

"We need to talk." She said, Rossi, Garcia, Morgan, JJ, Hotch and Elizabeth followed but I stopped Reid.

"I saw you." I said and he looked at me confused, "I saw you at the courthouse, you and Elizabeth."

"Oh." He said and looked down.

"Your secrets safe with me." I told him and he smiled, "Bet your pretty happy huh?"

"I couldn't be happier." He said and we walked to the round room

* * *

"The committee made it clear they will not support a rogue team. Agent Prentiss convinced them you were not that. They will be watching you closely. So I suggest you play by their rules." Strauss tells us

"So we're ok?" Garcia asked her

"Suspension is lifted for everyone."

"Thank you, ma'am." JJ told her

"There may be more paperwork, considering your...situation, but the team is lucky to have you, if you're interested." Strauss tells me

"May I think about it?" I asked

"Of course."

After a short pause I looked at her, "I'm in." I said and we all smiled

"I have a stack of cases on my desk. I'm happy to pass them along" Strauss tells Hotch

"I'll pick them up in the morning." He said and she left

"Emily, uh... What did you tell them?" Morgan asked me

* * *

"The only people I know who could accomplish that mission just walked out. They do their jobs with integrity, and most importantly, they honor their oath. 'I will support and defend the constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. That I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me God.'"

 **A/N: *peaks out from behind the corner* Anyone mad? No? Okay *phew*. I really hoped you liked that and again I'm sorry about lying, I didn't even know I was until the idea I had for their story line switched in my head.**


	18. Chapter 18

**The Beauty and the Geek**

The sun shined through the tiny crack of my curtains and my alarm went off, I reached over and turned it off then felt an arm wrap around my waist pulling me back. Spencer nuzzled his face into my neck and kissed it.

"Well good morning to you too." I said and he chuckled against my neck then brought his head back up.

"Good morning."

I turned over and faced him giving him a kiss on the lips, "How did you sleep?" I asked him

"I slept great, I had this beautiful, amazing woman next to me the entire night."

When he said that I bolted upright, "There's was another woman in my bed?!" I said with a smile and he pulled me back down to him.

"Only you, it's always been you." He said and kissed me, the kiss grew more passionate and he shifted us so that he was hovering above me. I put my fingers in his hair as he ran his hands up my side going under my shirt, we never actually had sex yet, partly because I didn't want to push him into it and also because every time we get close to starting it we get called in a a case. He trailed his lips from my mouth to my neck then to my collar bone, I tightened my grip in his hair then moved my hands to the bottom of his shirt and pulled it over his head and he continued trailing kisses around my neck area, I moved my leg up so my knee was next to his hip and I could feel the bulge in his pants press against me. He was just about to take my shirt off when both of our phones went off and I groaned.

"I'm gonna kill my brother." I said and he chuckled

"You can't actually kill him without telling him about us."

I sighed, he was right, only JJ and Emily knew about us, "Do you want to tell people?" I asked him

"Not just yet, I'm good with this being our business for the time being. We can tell them when we're ready." He said and I nodded

"Okay then, we'll wait, but if you don't get up right now Aaron will kill both of us for being late." I told him and he put his head down.

"Do I have to? I'm kind of liking this situation."

I chuckled and kissed him lightly on the lips, "We have to go to work Dr. Reid." I said and growled before kissing me deeply.

"You know how I love it when you say that."

"I know that's why I said it." I said and managed to get out from underneath him and headed to my bathroom.

"Tease." He said and I stuck my head out.

"You love it." I told him then went back into the bathroom.

I got to work before he did and I saw JJ and Emily walking down the hall towards the bull pen, "Yeah. Well, after all the cases you presented over the years, I'm not surprised." Emily told her.

"Hey Elizabeth how was your weekend?" JJ asked giving me a look.

"It would have been a lot better if we wouldn't have gotten a case." I told her and the elevator dinged then Spence walked out

"Hey, where have you been? I wanted to do brunch this weekend." JJ told him and he walked past us.

"I had to deal with some stuff with my mom. Have you seen Garcia?" He asked not looking up from the file he has

"Uh, she's with Rossi." She said and we stopped but Spencer continued walking, "He hates me."

"Mm, he was just busy. Let it go." Emily told her and I put my arm around JJ's shoulder

"Just give him time." I said and we made our way to the round room

* * *

I sat down at the table next to Spencer when Garcia and Rossi walk in, "Look, master of all things Italian, I am having a Fellini festival at my house this weekend and I must serve the beautiful food of his country." Garcia tells him and Rossi pulls out his chair

"Maybe you should show a Disney film and stick with burgers."

"You know, Rossi, you could always give Penelope a cooking lesson." Morgan told him and I saw Rossi give him a look

"Oh, my gosh, that would be amazing. That would be like- that would be like the Iron Chef meets the BAU. And we could do it at your house." Garcia said to Rossi

"I don't have a house, I have a mansion." He tells her and I snickered then Aaron walked in

"All right, let's get started." I see JJ look at Garcia and pushed her the remote

"Oh. All right, mes amis. You are jetting to Durant, Oklahoma, because in the last 3 days, two women have been found dead after being sexually tortured and then blinded with a sulfuric acid solution. Abby Elcott is our first victim. 19-year-old art student. She was headed to campus for an advanced drawing class. She'd been missing for two days. Same goes for our second victim, Beth Westerly, 17. She had just finished her coffee shop shift and was on her way to a bar method class."

"Both low-risk victims." Emily points out

"And physically similar." Morgan added

"How close are the two abduction sites?" Rossi asked her

"5 miles apart at bus stops. Abby's cell was found near one, Beth's scarf near the other."

"Where are the dump sites?" Spencer asked

"One in an alley, the other in a field."

"So he stapled their eyes open, then he blinded them?" JJ asked

"It's about power and control. Maybe he didn't want them to watch while he hurt them." Morgan tells her

"Or it could be about shame. Perhaps the unsub is disfigured himself. Blinding the victims leaves them helpless, lost, totally dependent. It may be a manifestation of how he sees himself in this world." Spencer mentions

"It is a form of enucleation, just without the scalpel." Emily says

"His face is the last they see before darkness." I add

"Garcia, come up with a list of jobs that would give the unsub access to sulfuric acid. The rest of us, wheels up in 30 minutes." Aaron tells us

* * *

"Victimology is very similar. Blond-haired, blue-eyed teenage girls." Aaron tells us looking at the file

"We believe they were each abducted near public transportation stops." JJ points out

"When was this photo taken?" I asked

"Beth was caught on a bank surveillance camera 3 hours before she disappeared. That's a recent photo of Abby." Morgan tells me

"So she wasn't found in the same clothes she was abducted in." I said

"Maybe he changed them because hers were burned by the sulfuric acid." Rossi says

"It's possible. Sulfuric acid can turn human flesh into soap."

"That's..gross" I said and saw him smirk

"Garcia, any recent similar cases in the surrounding area?" Aaron asked her via computer

 _"Actually, yes. Two months ago a prostitute and a runaway were both found raped and killed and they had stab wounds to their eyes."_

"So maybe he practiced on high-risk victims first." JJ tells us

"And then advanced to chemical enucleation." Morgan added

"Isn't that a rare paraphilia?" JJ asked

"Well, the chemical part is. It would exacerbate the pain." Emily tells her

"Like Ed Kemper, he's probably practicing on surrogates before going after the real object of his rage." Rossi mentions

"Dave, you and I will talk to the parents. Morgan and Prentiss, go to the disposal sites. JJ, you, Elizabeth and Reid to the abduction sites." Aaron said and I saw JJ smile at Spencer but he looked away, I looked at her and gave her a sympathetic smile.

* * *

"So Beth got off the bus here and headed northwest toward class." Spencer tells us as we walk towards the bus stop

"It's amazing no one witnessed her abduction." JJ points out

"Emily was buried 6 feet under and wound up in Paris, so I guess anything's possible, right?" Spencer asked in a bitter tone

"So that is what this is about." JJ says

"Maybe our unsub's a little bit like Bundy. He feigns injury in order to get her to help him." Spencer mentions ignoring what she said

"Look, Spence, if you want to talk about this-" JJ started to say but Spencer cut her off

"Maybe he tried other tactics, like, "'Wow, you're really pretty. You should be a model. I can take your photo.'"

"I'll take that as a no." She said and I put my hand on her back and gave it a light rub

"Either one would disarm her." Spencer says

"Charm is quite the killer." I point out

"So are tears." He said and I looked at him, "Whatever his ruse was, the unsub mostly likely used it to get her into his vehicle."

"Well, if Abby was last seen at a bus stop a few miles away, then he definitely has a means of transportation." JJ says

"Hopefully the disposal site will tell us more." Spencer told us and walked away

"Spence." I said but he continued walking, I put my arm though JJ's, "Come on." I told her and we followed him.

* * *

"Again he's disposing in an area frequented by homeless people." Rossi brings up as we approach the body

"It's equidistant to the last two dump sites." Spencer points out

JJ opened the victims mouth, "He burned her tongue with the chemical this time."

"So he removed her ability to taste." Rossi says

"Why would he do that?" The detective asked

"Historically this kind of torture was used to prevent someone from revealing a secret." Spencer tells her

"Maybe she offended him." JJ said standing up

"I wonder what that's like." Spencer says and I nudged him with my elbow but he ignored me and I looked at JJ

"Her lips are extremely chapped." I said

"She was probably forced to repeatedly participate in some sort of kissing fantasy." Spence mentions leaning to look at the body

"And when things go awry, he takes the offending sense away." JJ said

"He tortured her in these clothes, which means the 80's are essential to his delusion." Spencer tells the detective

"Maybe that's when this rejection occurred and he held on to the clothes all these years." Rossi tells us

"And now he's attacking girls who remind him of women from that time." I point out

"He's fixated on her type and remakes them fit his fantasy." Spencer adds

"But why start now?" The detective asked

"Something probably triggered it, and instead of dealing with it, he's acting out." JJ said and I saw her look at Spencer who looked back at her then walked away.

I sighed and walked after him, "Spence." I said and he didn't stop so I grabbed his arm, "Why are you acting bitter towards JJ?"

"You know why."

"Why, because her and Aaron protected Emily by faking her death?" I asked him

"Because we were lied to, aren't you mad at Hotch for not telling you?"

"Well I was but I got over it because I understand why he did it." I said to him

"You know how hard it was for me, what I struggled with." He said

I looked over at the others they were still looking at the body so I grabbed his hand, "I know trust me I will never forget that but don't take this out on JJ." I said and he pulled his hand away and walked off.

* * *

"We believe the unsub or unknown subject that we're looking for is a white male in his 40s. This is someone who's reacting to rejection by a woman when he was teenager in the 1980s. He's punishing his victims for their reactions to him by taking away their senses with sulfuric acid." Aaron said to the officers and detectives

"We believe our unsub could possibly work part-time as a janitor or a mechanic, which would give him access to this chemical." Rossi adds

"And after studying the disposal sites, we think it's likely that he is homeless. Now, how do we typically react toward the homeless? We judge them by their looks and smells. It's that same negative reaction we believe that a woman had toward the unsub at some point in the eighties." Morgan points out

"The unsub's fixation on this woman is now all-consuming. It's caused him to develop obsessive love disorder. He most likely has tunnel vision and believes that she holds the key to his happiness. He will stalk her in an attempt to win her back." Emily says

"He will do whatever it takes to be near his love interest. But her rejection will spiral him into a depression." JJ tells them

"Which would lead to rape and murder of the surrogates who represent her. And it's only a matter of time before this rage and anger causes the unsub to go after her directly." Spencer inputs

 **JJ POV...**

"Spence." I said to him following him into the briefing room of the station, "Look, we gotta talk about this."

"I don't want to talk about it." He said grabbing some papers

"I get it, ok? You're disappointed with the way we handled Emily."

"Listen, I have a lot going on, all right?" He said and started to walk away

"You know what I think it is?" I asked and he faced me

"What?"

"You're mad that Hotch and I controlled our micro-expressions at the hospital and you weren't able to detect our deception." I told him

"You think it's about my profiling skills?" He asked, "Jennifer, listen, the only reason you were able to manage my perceptions is because I trusted you. I came to your house for 10 weeks in a row crying over losing a friend, and not once did you have the decency to tell me the truth." He said and I felt tears form in my eyes, he never calls me Jennifer

"I couldn't."

"You couldn't? Or you wouldn't?" He asked

"No, I couldn't." I said with a bit of anger in my voice

"What if I started taking Dilaudid again? Would you have let me?" He asked and I looked at him in shock

"You didn't."

"Yeah, but I thought about it and it was Liz who helped me get over that" He tells me and walks away again

"Spence." I said and he faced me, "I'm sorry."

"It's too late, all right?" He said and walked away

"Reid." Emily said after him but he continued walking, I looked at them trying to hide the tears and I looked at Elizabeth who sighed and closed her eyes.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"It would have had to have been a woman very close to the unsub to make him react this way." Aaron tells us

"Then why go after surrogates?" I asked

"I don't think we're dealing with a typical homeless person. He's good with chemicals, owns a car. I think the only mistake in our profile was assuming there was something wrong with his physical composition, reducing him to some sort of stereotype." Spencer said walking into the room, me and JJ didn't even look at him, I get why he's mad but it's not JJ's fault she was just doing what she was ordered to do

"You think it's only his mental state?" Rossi asked him

"I think this guy might be smart enough to use his disability to his advantage so he comes across as harmless."

"Then when he's alone and the victim rejects him, he goes off." Morgan adds

"What if he doesn't live on the street? What if he's in a halfway house?" JJ asked

"Garcia, I need a list of halfway houses and mental health centers in the unsub's comfort zone." Aaron tells her

" _Ok. 5 are being sent to your phones."_

"Which of those were around in the eighties, Garcia?" Morgan asked her

" _There are two in your area."_

"Morgan, Elizabeth and Prentiss, take the first. Dave and I will take the second." Aaron said to us

"What about us?" JJ asked as we got up to leave

"Stay here and check ViCAP for similar M. O.s and signatures."

* * *

"I've worked here over 15 years. There are many people who fit that description." The lady running the soup kitchen said to us

"This guy would be mobile, probably early 40s." Emily tells her

"Well, if he's got a car, then he's transitioned out in the last few years. State budget cuts."

"All right, we'll need a list of those names." Morgan told her

"It ain't gonna be small." She said and walked away

"Hey, Morgan, Elizabeth."

"Hmm?" Morgan said

"What do I do about Reid?" She asked and glanced at me but I just shrugged

"Emily, there's a lot about you being back that's unresolved." Morgan told her

"Are you both pissed at me, too?"

"Come on, now. How can we be? You're here." Morgan told her and I smiled at her

"Yeah now that your back there's a lot less testosterone." I said and Morgan lightly shoved me

"Thank you. Because I know what you went through. Grief counseling. You carried my coffin." She tells Morgan

"Yeah, I sure did. What was in that thing, anyway?" He asked and we chuckled

"I don't know." Emily said and the lady walked back over

"Here you go." She handed Morgan the list

"Thank you very much." He said and she left again

"Look, just give Spencer some time. He'll be fine." I told her, I really wanted to believe that.

"Thanks" She told me and Morgan pulled out his phone.

"Yeah, Hotch, it's me, Morgan. Listen, 19 people entered this house in the eighties who were let out in the last 5 years." He said and there was a pause, "All right. We'll start reaching out to the extended families."

* * *

"So we interviewed the 19 people released from the group home. None of them fit the profile." Morgan tells Aaron and JJ as we walk into the room

"Dave's still trying to locate the families." He tells us

"Tammy Bradstone's parents just filed a report. Their daughter didn't return from homecoming last night." The detective says walking into the room holding a picture

"Her face is similar to our 3 vics." Emily mentions

"She's about the same age." JJ pointed out

"Well, the after party where she was last seen was smack in the comfort zone." The detective says

"Where are her parents now?" Aaron asked her

"They're at the house. We're bringing her friends in for questioning."

"You head over there. We'll start the interviews here." Aaron told Emily and Morgan

* * *

"We need to know where Tammy is, Cy." Aaron tells him, Cy is looking down at his hands rocking back and forth

"We've looked in your car. There's no sign of her." I told him

"We know this isn't about Tammy. This is about your love for Lyla." Aaron say

"Lyla? Lie-la!" Cy said with anger

"You and Lyla had a pretty good secret all these years. How'd she get you to shut up about it?" I asked him and he chuckled

"One time. That's all I needed."

"Is that where you, uh, did it, Cy?" I asked him and leaned on the table, "Is that the same place you took Tammy?"

"We know when you saw her in that dress, it made you think of Lyla." Aaron tells him

I sat down on the table next to Cy, "Tammy's not the one you want to hurt, Cy. Lyla's the one that should be punished."

"She's the one who made you feel like a freak." Aaron adds

"A reject, a weirdo." I said

"Tell us where Tammy is, Cy, and we can be done." Aaron told him

"Done?" He asked us

"Finished." I said

"Finished? Well, I can-I can do that. Under one condition." He said

* * *

"Now, where's Tammy, Cy?" His brother Matt asked him , "Hey! What did you do with my daughter?"

"Lyla was an angel. Like-like a prize in the Crackerjack box. When she would come into the room, my heart would race. When I saw Tammy in that dress, it took me back there."

"Cy, just tell me where she is." Matt insisted

"I took her. We did things. Everything was going good un-until she said those words" Cy told him

"What did she say, Cy?" Aaron asked him

"She said... She said the reason her mother always backed up when I came over was because she didn't want to feel me touching her. So guess what I did, Matt. You guess!" Cy said to him

"What did you do, Cy?"

"I made it so she couldn't feel either." Cy said and my heart dropped, "She screamed so loud. But no one could hear her."

"Where do you have her?" I asked him

"The same place I told him about my love.

"You never told me that." Matt said to him

"Yes, I did, yes, I did, yes, I did! But you thought I was lying and then you married my girl!"

"So this is what you do, Cy? Why didn't you just hurt me?" Matt asked him

"I take away your senses, Matt. The last one is hearing. And if I take that, you wouldn't be able to listen to what I did to her." Cy tells him and Matt moves to jump over the table at him but me and Aaron grab him

"You son of a bitch! You taped- you taped my daughter?! You son of a bitch!"

"You son of a bitch?" Cy repeated, "You son of a bitch! Ha ha ha ha!"

* * *

We all sat on the jet and I saw Emily walk over to Spencer who was reading a book, I sat in a chair on the other side of him, I had my book out as well, occasionally I would see Spencer look over at me, he knew I wasn't happy with him about the way he snapped at JJ and brought up Dilaudid, yes I had been there to make sure he wouldn't do it and the main reason he didn't was because of me, but it was a sore subject for JJ.

"So, the surgeon said he believes he can restore feeling to Tammy's hands." Emily tells him as she sat down

"Good. We got there in time."

"I heard Mr. Bradstone wants to watch the tape." She adds

"People have an innate curiosity to see things in order to confirm them." Spencer pointed out

"Oh, that explains why I'm going to Rossi's tomorrow night. I want to see if he really can cook. You coming?" She asked him

"I don't know. I'm not so sure I can make it." He said and I saw him glance at me, I was definitely going

"Look, Reid, I know you're mad at us because we didn't tell you what really happened, and I understand that. But I promise you, we had no choice. You mourned the loss of a friend. I mourned the loss of 7." She said and I closed my eyes for a brief moment fighting the tears, "This whole thing gave me an ulcer. Please don't give me another one." She said and I smiled, "Are you gonna go to Rossi's tomorrow?"

"We'll see." He said and she got up, put her hand on my shoulder and walked away, "Liz." He said and I sighed then looked at him, "I'm sorry about how I acted, please don't be mad at me, I just.." He said and I got up and moved to the chair across from him and grabbed his hand.

"I get it, I do. I was mad at Aaron for awhile but, Spence, they only did it to save her."

He looked at me and ran his thumb across my hand, "You always know how to bring me out of a dark place," He said and looked behind him, everyone but Emily were asleep then he looked back at me and leaned forward, I did as well and he motioned for me to turn my head, "You're my angel." He whispered in my ear and kissed me on the cheek.

"I always will be."

* * *

"Cooking is the most sensual art form. And these are my paints." Rossi tells us as we gather around his counter

"So your hands must be brushes." Garcia says

"Don't interrupt." Rossi told her and I snickered, "In a pot of boiling water we cook our spaghetti until it's al dente, firm to the tooth. Here you go. Everybody pass it around." He said handing us noodles, "See? Feel the texture. There we go. Ok. Now... In a large pan, we fry up our pancetta. Keeping a sharp eye that the edges are crisp."

"But careful not to burn the onions." Aaron said to him

"Bravo, Aaron!"

"Teacher's pet" I said and he lightly pushes me.

"We saute until translucence."Rossi says and the doorbell rings, and I think I knew who it was too

"Uh-I got it." Morgan said and walked away

"Grazie mille." Rossi said after him and I saw JJ bring her wine glass to her mouth, "Uh-uh-uh!" Rossi utters pointing a finger at her and she put her glass down, "Now, we mix in the eggs... The parmesan... The spaghett... And parsley. You see, it's all about timing and rhythm. And if you don't feel yourself doing it properly, please, order a pizza." He tells us and I chuckled

"Sorry I'm late." Spencer said walking over to us and standing next to JJ

"Yeah. And this is why I cook alone." Rossi tells him and I look at him, he smiles at me which I return then look back at Rossi

"So, uh, when do we get to drink the wine?" Emily asked

"Almost there. Ok. We start at the beginning. You eat what you cook, I'll supervise, but we're gonna do this all together, just like a family." He said holding up his glass

"Ok now?" JJ asked

"Now. Salud!"

"Salud!" We all said and clinked our glasses together, as I clinked mine with Spencer's I gave him a wink.

After a while I excused myself to the bathroom, after I was done there was a knock on the door, I opened it and saw Spencer standing there.

"I'm glad you came." I told him and he smiled.

"You were right, so was Emily, I can't be angry about it anymore."

"Good." I said and he stepped closer to me.

"You look beautiful." He said and I smirked, "I kind of wish we were alone right now."

"Well kind of are." I pointed out, "Why?"

"Because I really want to kiss you."

"Oh" I said and looked down the hall then grabbed his shirt and pulled him to me into a kiss, he put his arms around me and pulled me closer, I put my fingers in his hair and moaned into his mouth as I felt him run his hands over my back.

"Really you two?" We heard and broke apart seeing JJ standing there, "You realize where we are at right?"

"Sorry" I said straightening out my dress.

"You're lucky it was me and not someone else, like Hotch." She said and I sighed

"Well thanks for that mood killer." I told her and she smiled.

"JJ, I'm sorry about what happened before." Spencer said and she pulled him into a hug.

"It's okay, I'm not mad." She said and she left.

"I think I might um..head home." I said and he looked at me, "Coming over?"

"Definitely." He said and I nodded then walked away.

* * *

Shortly after I got home there was a knock on my door, I opened it and Spencer came inside but before I had the chance to say anything he pulled me to him kissing me deeply and moved us back towards my room. He moved me to lay on the bed and moved his mouth from my lips to my neck to my collarbone again, I moaned putting my hands in his hair and he reached his hand behind my back and unzipped my dress, I moved my hands from his hair to his shirt taking the suit coat off then his other shirt and he moved my straps down and I lifted myself so he could take it off, I moved us so that I was hovering over him and kissed my way down his chest while undoing his pants. He put his hands in my hair and I pulled his pants and boxers off then returned to his lips, he flipped us again and I moved both my legs up on his sides, he reached over and grabbed a condom from my nightstand and after putting it on he braced himself on his elbows next to my head and slowly pushed into me. I shot my head back and moaned gripping his shoulders as he attacked my neck, he moved slow at first but started to go faster and I gripped his hair.

"Oh Spence." I moaned and he kissed my lips before moving to my neck.

"My Liz." He whispered in my ear and it sent shock waves though my whole body as we rocked against each other, fitting together perfectly, matching each others paces, even when he picked up speed.

"OOH!" I moaned again and shortly after I reached my peak, "Spence!" I heard him grunt as he finished as well. We both laid there and looked at each other.

"I love you." He said and I smiled

"I love you too, always." I said and he kissed me. He shifted and laid down next to me discarding the condom and I snuggled up next to him and put my head on his chest then fell asleep, we both don't know what could happen to us on this job but one thing was for sure, we would never ever let each other go again.

Or so I thought.

 **A/N:** **Okay I realize Spencer might not be experienced when it comes to sex but in my story he is so :P anyways, I hope you like this I feel a little unloved with lack of reviews other then the ones who comment on every chapter.**

 **So BIG shout out to:**

 **MageVicky**  
 **ahowll993**  
 **WritingHealstheHeart**  
 **.2017**

 **You guys are wonderful thank you for the reviews and positive words I hope I'm keeping you happy with these chapters, if you want to see me add anything let me know, and BTW I am honest about this part, I am not going to have them reveal their relationship til season 8.**

 **TTFN: Ta Ta For Now...I'm sorry i'm done.**


	19. Chapter 19

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Here are Jack's standardized test scores. Jack tells me you read together every night you're home. " The teacher tells Aaron and I as she hands him a paper, Jack's teacher wanted to talk to him and Aaron invited me to come with because I was Jack's guardian while Aaron was away and also his godmother.

"We just finished Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Last Night." Aaron told her

"I wish you could work with all of my kids." She said and I smiled

"So he's reading at a fourth-grade level." I said to her

"Mm-hmm. As you can see, his scores are high across the board. But he seems to be holding back in the classroom."

"Why do you think that is?" Aaron asked her

"Has he ever mentioned a classmate named Paul?" She asked us

"Paul Cain?" Aaron asked

"Mm-hmm."

"Yes, he's been over. He's a friend of Jack's." He told her

"Well, Paul is being mean to Jack for some reason."

"How long has that been going on?" I asked her

"A few weeks. Jack's just his latest target. We've moved Jack away from Paul, and we're documenting everything, of course."

"Well, Jack says that things are going very well at school, so the steps you're taking must be working." Aaron told her

"Thank you."

"Let us know if anything changes." He said

"Absolutely."

"Can I keep this?" He asked

"Sure."

"Thank you so much." He told her and we walked out of the room

"Thank you for bringing me with Aaron." I told him as we walked through the hall

"Of course, you've helped me so much with Jack while I was away and you your his aunt."

"I would do anything for Jack you that." I told him

"By the way is everything okay?" He asked and I looked at him

"What do you mean?"

"Well this morning when you met me here you looked a little flustered. He points out to me.

"Oh, well I um I lost my keys and then when I found them I couldn't find my purse. I didn't sleep very well last night." I told him, it wasn't a total lie, it was Spencer's fault anyways, he's just so damn irresistible.

"Are you seeing someone?"

"What? No, this job is to hectic for that." I tell him and he smiles.

"You were never a good liar." He said and I pushed him

"I'm a great liar, you still think Sean was the one who put those worms in your bed when you were 13."

He stopped and looked at me, "That was you?"

"Wow look at the time, we gotta go." I said and walked away quickly.

"Elizabeth Marie Hotchner."

"I can't hear you!" I yelled back at him and headed to my car.

* * *

"Does anyone remember this picture?" Garcia asked us

"Hotch and I were there. That's principal Doug Givens. We had to drag him to safety." Rossi tells her

"High school bombing in Boise, right?" I asked

"School shooter and school bomber. A kid named Randy Slade shot 3 students and then set off an I. E. D. In the cafeteria via cell phone, killing himself and 13 kids total, but not before posting all of his plans online." JJ answered, "It was one of those "Where were you?" events. My whole campus was glued to the tv."

"Last night, Principal Givens was killed by a bomb modeled exactly like the old one." Garcia points out

"It feels like the unsub wants to attack the man who kept the school together after the bombing." Morgan mentions, "It's a pretty symbolic target."

"And this week is the 10th anniversary of the massacre." Aaron says

"And today is the first day of a 4-day event to commemorate the bombing at the school." Garcia adds

"Except commemorating it isn't enough for this unsub." Emily said

"No. He wants to relive it." Aaron points out

* * *

"Perpetrators of school violence are often sophisticated with their weapons. Randy Slade carried his bomb in his backpack. This guy hid his in Givens' clock radio." Spencer said sitting next to me on the jet as we looked through our files, it was really hard to concentrate when he smelled so damn good.

"Yeah, and progressive. Each one tries to top the body count of the one previous." Emily mentions

"And they're loners by default, not by choice. They try to join various social groups, but they get shut out." I pointed out

"Randy Slade wasn't a loner at all." Aaron told Rossi

"The family cooperated fully with us. He was a high-functioning psychopath, straight-A student, varsity wrestler, lots of girlfriends."

"With an above-average intelligence that made him incredibly resourceful. His explosive of choice was Semtex. It's found at demolition sites, but it's held under lock and key." Spencer says

"Which made us consider the possibility of a partner. Never found one." Rossi said

"Slade was too much of a narcissist to share credit. But he was also an impulsive teen, which is what bothers me about this unsub." Aaron adds

"His sense of control?" Emily asked him

"And the end game that he's working toward. Slade's pathology revolved around the big kill. This unsub could have done the same if he'd waited for the candlelight vigil."

"Which means there's no blaze of glory fantasy here. This unsub has more bombs made, and he's savoring the anticipation of his next attack." Rossi added

* * *

"Ok. So the unsub has to be tied to the school somehow, right? Current student, alumni, family member who lost someone?" JJ asked me and Spencer as we walked into the burned room

"It could be a Slade groupie celebrating his hero. He taped nails to the exterior of the bomb, specifically to rip open flesh. That's a sadistic detail of Slade's the unsub copied." Spencer mentions

"Except he tricked Givens into blowing himself up. A groupie probably wouldn't show that much self-control." I add

"Someone with an ax to grind against the principal would. Maybe he's a surrogate for the tormentors in high school he can't punish. Who were yours?" He asked JJ

"I don't even remember."

"You don't even remember? Wait, were you one of the mean girls?" He asked and she turned to look at him

"No."

"Valedictorian, soccer scholarship, corn-fed, but still a size zero. I think that you might have been a mean girl." He told her and I was trying to hold back a smile

"I was actually one of the nice girls, even to guys like you."

"Guys like me? I'll have you know that my social standing increased once I started winning at basketball." He defended

"Oh, yeah, you played basketball?" I asked him

"I didn't play. I coached basketball. I broke down the opposing team's shooting strategy."

"Is that why Morgan kicked you out of the pool last week?" JJ asked

"Yeah. It took him 3 rounds to realize I was hustling him." He told us and I chuckled

"Huh."

"Okay what about you Elizabeth? Any tormentors?" JJ asked me

"Well considering who my brother is, yes, I was tormented but in all fairness I also did the tormenting as well, at least to cheerleaders." I told them

"Why?" She asked

"Were you a cheerleader?" I asked her

"No."

"The cheerleaders acted like they owned the school just because they went out to parties and had sex with their football player boyfriends. It didn't stop me however from either writing graffiti on their lockers slipping notes into their lockers pretending they were from someone else." I told them and they looked at me, "What?"

"I would have never guessed that _you_ were the one to do those things." JJ said

"Well I never went to the extreme most kids do, just a playful prank here and there." I said and JJ walked to the other side of the room and I was looking at the wall.

"And I still find you attractive." Spencer said in my ear sending chills down my spine.

"Well if we get this case wrapped up soon I can show how bad I can be." I said and heard him groan as I walked away.

* * *

 _"You're on speaker, JJ."_ Aaron said to her over the phone

"So we might have another one."

 _"Might?"_ He asked

"One of the North Valley alumni was killed in her motel room. No bomb or gun this time. Looks like he used his bare hands." She told him

 _"You got a name?"_

"Chelsea Grant." Spencer told him

 _"She's on the list."_ I heard Morgan say

* * *

"Partners of dominant psychopaths are usually submissive, but that doesn't mean that they can't be intelligent or that they're physically weak." Aaron tells the police department

"This unsub laid low after the bombing and successfully evaded police and FBI. That took cunning and patience, which he's exhibiting now with his current murders." Morgan mentions

"We think he fits the loner profile Slade debunked. He grew up in an abusive home, which kept him from forming the normal social bonds in high school." JJ points out

"We interviewed all the outcasts from back then. How did this guy slip through?" The chief asked us

"Even outcasts eventually form friendships. But this unsub was the outcast the outcasts rejected. He won't stand out in any capacity, and as a matter of fact, most of his fellow students probably won't even remember graduating with him." Spencer tells him

"And that invisibility is what made him attractive to Slade. This partner wouldn't steal the spotlight." Rossi adds

"Slade turned to the cafeteria because most of the names on his list ate there together during fifth period." Spencer inputs

"So his hatred festered when the names on the list emerged from the cafeteria as media heroes. And now he wants to finish the job that Randy started." I said

"Emotionally, this weekend is more a high school reunion to him than a memorial. We go to reunions to show who we grew up to be. Often that means changing everything about who we were." Rossi tells them

"Consciously or not, Randy Slade revealed clues as to his partner's identity when he detonated his bomb. Agent Prentiss will be conducting cognitive interviews to see what the survivors might remember." Aaron says

* * *

 _"So, as you can see from your board there, this kill list is weirdly similar to high school. Group one is like the popular kids- prom court, football team, Dean's list. The Heathers, if you will."_ Garcia tells me, Aaron, Spencer and JJ

"Kids in Slade's social circle." Aaron points out

"What about number two?" I asked her

 _"Uh, mm-hmm, that would be the kids from the other side of the tracks, 180-degree difference, kids this close to getting kicked out- stoners, burnouts, mental cases. Chelsea Grant is on this list."_

"Maybe Slade targeted them because they disgusted him?" JJ asked and I hear Spencer's phone ring

"But they didn't threaten Slade's sense of superiority. He wouldn't have even cared about them." Aaron told her, Spencer silcened his phone but then it rang again

"All right, well, maybe the partner put them on the list. They'd be closer to his social status than Slade's." I added

"Why would the-" Spencer said and silenced his phone again, "I'm so sorry. Why would the unsub list kids that he fit in with?"

"Apparently that's how this clique worked. The kids in it were meaner to each other than kids on the outside. Garcia, separate out all the kids who got into trouble regularly. Then eliminate the names that the partner put on the list. Now, who's left that came to the memorial?" Aaron told her

 _"Right. Whoever made the list wouldn't put their name on it. Uh... Sir, I think- I think I've got him."_

* * *

"You buy it?" Emily asked Aaron

"He fits the profile, and the evidence points to him, but he seems sincere."

"He's not the unsub. He was the partner, but look at how Slade added "all the LoSeRs in this Godforsaken school." This capitalization isn't an accident. Look. L-S-R- Lewis Stuart Ramsey." Spencer told us indicating to the board

"So Slade named his own partner." I said

"Ironically, Lewis' marijuana addiction saved his life. " Spencer pointed out

Well, that puts us back to our original problem. If the unsub isn't the partner, how did he get his hands on a list that Slade and Lewis kept to themselves?" Emily asked

"The only answer is that part of the profile is wrong. The unsub's vendetta has nothing to do with the list. Did you get anything from Jerry Holtz?" Aaron asked her

"Only that he mixed up the cell phones that Slade used. It felt like he was making the story up, but I only had a hunch."

"We need to find him now. There's a connection to the victimology that we're missing. Whatever he's holding back might be the key." Aaron says

* * *

"Jerry Holtz?" Emily asked walking up to me and JJ, "How long?"

"Less than an hour. Security guard heard the commotion, but the unsub was already gone." JJ told her

"The only people who knew we were doing the cognitive interviews were the other survivors. The unsub must be part of that group."

"Well, we don't know that for a fact. He could have been lying in wait. Look, Hotch wants me to go through the victims' lives and find the overlap. We can compare their histories with the unsub's." JJ mentioned

"Well, what else do we have to go on?" Emily asked

"Spence said the unsub would have broken his hand beating Chelsea to death. Did you notice anyone with a cast on their hand, someone who seemed hurt?" I asked her

"No."

"I might know why. This unsub doesn't feel pain." Spencer said

* * *

"There's a medical condition called pain asymbolia, where patients register harmful stimuli without being bothered by it. They've been documented holding their hand over an open flame because their brain doesn't send pain signals to the central nervous system." Spencer tells me, Morgan, Aaron and Rossi

"Sounds pretty rare. You sure the unsub has it?" Rossi asked him

"The crime scenes prove it. This unsub displayed an unusual level of savagery towards his victims. And consider this- he smashed through a glass display case, but there were not cuts on Jerry. That means he most likely punched through it as a show of force. Now, the only way the human body could withstand that level of pain is if he couldn't feel it at all."

"It must take a major toll on someone's emotional development." Rossi says and Spencer's phone rings but he ignores it

"A significant contributor to our sense of empathy is the way we personally experience pain." Morgan adds

"And the unsub didn't develop his sense of empathy because it was cut off. Does every person with asymbolia have this?" Aaron asked Spence

"Actually, most feel empathy just fine, which makes me think the rest of our profile is still accurate. Loner, invisible, Outcast, boiling rage- son of a bitch! Hi! This is Dr. Spencer Reid. I actually can come to the phone right now with a very special message that your mother is-"

"Reid." Aaron said

"Sorry. I'm really sorry. I don't know what got into me. Where were we?" He asked and I hid back a smile and so did Morgan

"I'm going to have Garcia check medical records. What causes asymbolia?" Aaron asked

"S-s-severe trauma produces lesions in the insular cortex, usually after a stroke. But this unsub's so young, it's most likely caused by an external factor."

'Like a bomb going off next to him?" Rossi asked

"Yeah, a bomb going off next to him." Spencer said looking at Morgan, Aaron left and Spencer leaned down to grab some papers, "I will crush you." He mumbled

"What?" Morgan asked

"What?" Spencer said and left, I looked at Morgan with a smile and made my way to the bathroom.

As I finished up I heard a knock, when I opened it I saw Spencer standing there, "Um...last time I checked this was the womans bathroom and I know for a fact you don't have lady parts" I said and he looked down both sides of the hall before walking in shutting the door and spung me around so I was pressed against the door.

"I missed you this morning." He said brushing his lips against my ear making my skin tingle.

"Sorry, Aaron wanted me to go with him to talk to Jack's teacher." I said but my head spun as his hands ran up my sides.

"Mmm.." He said and played with the buttons of my shirt, "I didn't even get a chance to say good morning to you, or make you breakfast."

"I guess I'll have to make it up to you." I said and he brushed his lips against my neck.

"I can think of a way." He tells me and started to undo a couple of my buttons.

"Spence, as much as I would love to finish this, it's really not the time." I said and he kissed my neck.

"I know," He told me and moved back, "Just thought I'd show you what you missed this morning" he says and moved me away from the door.

"Well played mister." I tell him and he left, I fixed my shirt and headed out as well after slowing my racing heart.

* * *

"He's holding hostages in the restaurant. They're clearing the upper floors now. We got this video feed from the security camera. Two entrances- the front, the kitchen. Either way he can see us coming." The chief told Aaron, Rossi, Morgan and I

"He's nowhere near the window, so there's no line of sight." Morgan points out

"Yeah, but why take them hostage at all? If this is a vendetta, why not kill them now?" Rossi asked

"We profiled this would be like a reunion to him. He wants people to recognize who he is." Aaron answered him

"I think I know what he wants to be recognized for." I said

* * *

"Get up. Get up!"

"Robert Adams, we're with the FBI. We just want to talk to you." Aaron tells him as me and him walk in slowly with our guns raised

"You better drop those guns if you just want to talk." Robert tells us holding up a woman using her as a shield

I raised my hands and put my gun back in my holster, "We know why you're doing this, Bob." I tell him

"It's pretty obvious, isn't it? Before tonight, they didn't know my name! But now... No one will forget it."

"Bob, you'll be in the news for a couple of days. But no one will know the real story." Aaron says to him

"What story is that?"

"Tiffany... What did Randy say to the kid who looked him in the eye?" I asked her

"He... He said Jerry wasn't worth a bullet." She said

"But he didn't say it to Jerry, did he, Bob? Did he, Bob?" Aaron asked him

"No. He said it to me. I was the only one brave enough to stare him down, but his bomb knocked me out, and when I woke up, there was Jerry on the TV telling my story! My story!"

"And nobody got to find out that Bob Adams was a good kid. A brave kid. The kind of kid you'd want to hang out with." I said to him

"We can give you back your story, Bob, but you have to drop the gun." Aaron tells him

"Isn't it funny when your dream comes true... It's never the way you want."

"Bob." I pleaded

"Drop the gun." Aaron tells him and he throws the woman at us then we chase after him, "Morgan, he's heading to the south entrance."

 _"Copy. I got the back covered."_

 _"He's going in the boiler room."_ Aaron says over my radio when he split off from me

"I'm on my way." I tell him as I make my way down there, as I get near the door to the boiler room I hear a gun shot and I ran in, "Aaron!"

"Elizabeth, in here! We need medical in the boiler room." He said into his radio and I walked over pointing my gun at Bob, "Hold your fire." Aaron tells me

"That... Didn't... Hurt! Uhh! Aah!" Bob screamed then Aaron shot him in the head.

* * *

We sat on the jet heading home, I was sitting next to Morgan across from Spencer who was asleep, or well pretending he was and Rossi was sitting next to him. I was reading my book when suddenly I hear screaming coming from Morgan's headphone's and I looked at him confused.

"Ok, kid, that was cute. But that's all you got?" Morgan asked him and he snored, then Morgan's phone rang, "Hey, baby gi-" He said but I heard screaming coming out of that as well and I laughed as Rossi waved a white napkin in front of Morgan, "Uh-uh. All right, Reid, it's on. Just know that paybacks are a bitch." He said and Spencer snored again.

* * *

Me and Spencer arrived back at his place and set our bags down, but before I could even take my shoes off I feel Spencer wrap his arms around my waist.

"You know you always talk about Hotch scaring you when things go bad on a case, how do you think I feel when the same thing happens to you?" He said and placed a kiss on my neck and I turned to face him.

"I know, it's the job though Spence, you should know by now nothing can take me down I mean come on, I was in an accident, I've been shot.."

"That's my point, I love you to much to lose you." He said and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Now you know how I felt when you were poisoned by anthrax." I said and he kissed me.

"Can we promise each other something?"

"Of course, what is it?" I asked him

"No matter what happens on cases, no matter how our lives get put in danger, we never ever leave each other alone, that we always come back." He said and I kissed him then rested my forehead against his.

"I promise."

"I promise too." He said and kissed me.

"Now, I do believe you teased me earlier and I also believe I made you another promise to show you how bad I can be." I told him and he smirked, I grabbed his hand and led him into the bedroom and shut the door. I would never stop loving this man, never stop showing him how much he means to me, and above all else, I would never let him go.


	20. Chapter 20

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Spence stop it."

"Stop what?" He asked me while continuing to trying to take my shirt off.

"You know what, we have to go to work." I said and pulled his hands away from me for the 4th time, then I turned to face him and wrapped my arms around his neck, "You are a terrible influence." I told him and he kissed me while lifting me up onto his bathroom counter.

"I can't help it, I've waited years to kiss you and touch you. I want to enjoy it."

"You can have me have long as you want." I told him and he smiled

"Forever." He said and I kissed him, god he was such a good kisser.

"Sounds good to me, but we really need to get ready for work." I said and he sighed then moved so I could get down.

"Fine, but it's going to be a tough day there if you're going to wear that." He tells me looking me up and down, I was wearing a black button up see through shirt with a white tank top underneath, skinny jeans and my favorite pair of black boots.

I looked at him and bit my lip, "Well I guess you're just gonna have to control your urges." I said he closed the gap between us kissing me passionately

"Not when you bite your lip like that, drives me crazy."

"I see, well you better hurry up Dr. Reid or we'll be late." I told him and wiggled out of his arms making my way out of the bathroom.

"I'm getting you back for this." I heard him say after me and I just laughed.

* * *

"The bodies of two unidentified boys were found near Wichita, Kansas, a week apart. Both were Caucasian and between the ages of 15 and 17." Garcia tells us showing the pictures on the screen

"They were each found mangled in the aftermath of a tornado." Emily pointed out

"Yeah, but that's not what did them in. The M. E. has determined that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head before the storms hit." Garcia responded

"Well, the death blow in each case was in almost exactly the same spot." Morgan mentions

"Now, what about all the other damage to their bodies? Some of their limbs are missing." JJ says

"Yeah, victim number one, his right leg was taken off. Victim number 2, both arms were severed. But was that because of the tornado or the unsub?" I asked

"The M. E. still hasn't discovered that. He's a busy guy. Major storms have hit the area. 23 dead. The morgue is slammed." Garcia answered

"It fits the unsub. He's got a hell of a sadistic streak." Rossi inputs

"Well, a tornado would clear the air and give the unsub the privacy to do his thing." Morgan added

"He may be using the storm as the body disposition modality." Spencer said walking around the table

"Forensic countermeasure, wind, hail, rain, mother nature destroys the crime scene." Rossi says

"Or he wants us to think mother nature actually committed the murders." Emily said

"What concerns me is the brief period between kills." Aaron points out

"Only a week. He's moving fast." Rossi says

"We need to move faster. Garcia, get me I. D.s on all the victims." Aaron told her

"I'm a gale-force wind."

"Wheels up in 30." He tells us

"Oh, and pack for foul weather. The forecast is nasty." Garcia added

* * *

We sat on the jet and suddenly it starts to rumble and shake a little, "Central Plains. Right in the middle of tornado alley." JJ says as she keeps her glass from falling over

"If this unsub is using tornadoes as a forensic countermeasure, then Kansas certainly is the ideal setting. Tornadoes do pose a significant threat. During this year's super outbreak back in April, there were 336 confirmed tornadoes in just several days, resulting in over 300 lives lost." Spencer points out and Garcia popped up on the screen

"Hey. Tell us something good, mama." Morgan told her

"Ok, so local P. D. have I. D.'d your victims. I'm putting this all on your tablets if you'd like to follow along." She said and I picked up my tablet, "First up is Jason Meredith, 16-year-old runaway from Garden City, Kansas. Mom said he took off over a year ago. Next up is Eric Janelle, 15-year-old foster kid from Wichita. He's been gone 3 weeks. Oh, both of these kids have records for possession and prostitution."

"They were street hustlers." Emily brought up

"At-risk kids. This could be a sexual predator." Aaron says

"An extremely violent one if the unsub is responsible for the damage done to the bodies, especially those missing limbs." Morgan added

"Well, now, he could be keeping the body parts for some sort of fetish." Emily claimed

"Oh, ok, eew. That is my cue. I'm here if you need me with my binary machines that don't say gross things." Garcia tells us and hangs up then the jet shakes again, I looked over and saw Spencer buckle his seat belt and Rossi silently prays

"I didn't know you were a bad flyer." Spencer said to him

"I'm not. I just hate turbulence."

"You know, turbulence very rarely causes planes to crash." Spence pointed out

"That does me absolutely no good at the moment. Thank you." Rossi tells him

"What we really need to worry about are micro bursts, sudden down bursts of air associated with thunderstorms. But a small craft like this, if we hit one of those at the wrong altitude- pulverized."

"I beg of you to make him stop." Rossi tells us and JJ shakes her head and I hid back a smile.

* * *

"Every slab in the house is full." The M.E tells me, Rossi and Specer, "Could you hold that?" He asked Rossi handing him the file as he tried to push the door open, "We have two weeks over. Can't apologize enough for the delay. 4 years of med school, most of the time it's old folks, heart attacks, and strokes. Now, I'm from New York. Not a whole lot of action out here in Wichita. Your guys are right here." He said and uncovered one of the bodies

"Identical blows to the head." Rossi points out

"Well, that's what tipped me off, not to mention they're both John Does. Kids this age get claimed fast." The M.E said

"They had alcohol and dextromethorphan in their systems?" Spencer asked him

"It's cough medicine." I said

"Yeah. You see it with a lot of kids. It's a cheap high, free if you can steal it. And these two had a whole lot of it on board."

"What were you able to determine from all the damage to the bodies?" Spencer asked

"Well, it's mostly consistent with tornado casualties I've seen before. Lacerations, abrasions, massive internal trauma."

"Mostly?" I asked him

"Well, their limbs. Those are chopped off. I'm guessing with an axe or a cleaver."

"Yeah, a dull one by the looks of the tissue damage at the stumps." Rossi mentions looking at the body

"Cut off postmortem." Spencer added

"Oh, definitely, but only minutes after they were killed. You see the discoloration?" The M.E asked and we looked at the vic's ankle, "The decomposition begins almost as soon as the blood supply stops."

"They both have ligature marks on their wrists and ankles, at least what they have left of them." I said

"Good eye." The M.E tells me , "Those are all actually antemortem."

"They're from restraints. He held them before the kill." Rossi mentions

"Was there any sign of sexual assault?" Spencer asked the M.E

"Inconclusive. All the damage made it impossible to tell."

"So, he gets them drunk and high, he restrains them, kills them, a cleaves off a limb as a souvenir. Then he dumps the body and lets the storm clean up his mess." I said

"But why the souvenir? What or who, exactly, is he trying to remember?" Spencer asked

* * *

"Never seen anything like it," The detective tells me, Rossi, Aaron, and Spencer as we walked over to the newest victim, "Name's Gary Dyson. 16. Runaway from Kansas City. A couple of my guys have seen him before. I. D.'d him off the tattoos on what's left of his arms."

"This particular area get hit with a tornado last night?" Rossi asked him

"Thunderstorms came through. Warnings went out, but no twisters."

"The weather's gotta be the trigger." Aaron points out

"He's following the patterns. We track the storms, we find the unsub."

"Forensic evidence has been washed away." Aaron says bending down to look at the body

"But behaviorally, it's the most intact crime scene we've encountered so far." Spencer adds

"It's the same blow to the head, but no cuts, no abrasions." Rossi mentioned

"Except he's missing his torso." I said

"It was only a matter of time before he missed one. Tornadoes are extremely unpredictable and sometimes last only a matter of minutes before they dissipate. The fact that he was able to leave his previous victims directly in the path of one is astounding." Spencer told us

"So the conditions were perfect last night, but his tornado never came." Rossi says

"It's only been 4 days. He's accelerating. And the weather's driving him to do it." Aaron said

"Guys, we know that fetishists are loyal to the body parts they take, but I think that this unsub is loyal to the whole of these parts. If you were to take the missing pieces from all the victims so far, you could almost assemble an entire body."

"So he's not taking bodies apart, he's putting one together." Aaron concluded

* * *

"We're looking for a white male in his mid- to late-20s. He's mobile and he travels great distances to follow storms. He's probably in a truck or a van." Aaron tells the department while walking behind us

"We believe he may live in that vehicle. It's probably beat up, maybe rusted from the elements." Rossi adds and JJ's cell phone rings

"Sorry."

"Jeffrey Dahmer, serial killer, was under the delusion they he could create young male s*x zombies that wouldn't resist his advances." Spencer mentions

"And when Dahmer's test subjects died, he kept their body parts as souvenirs." I brought up

"Skulls, hearts, even genitalia." Spence finished

"Restoring body parts is no small task. They're gonna get ripe fast. He needs lots of ice, salt, maybe, something to preserve them." Rossi says

"And he's paying for all that stuff somehow. Gas, too. He doesn't have the social skills to hold a job for long, so he's most likely a day laborer, handyman, anything transitory." Morgan tells them

"We think he's using the weather as a forensic countermeasure to destroy evidence, but we also think he might be some sort of symphoraphiliac." JJ said

"Sorry, symphora what?" The detective asked her but she was looking at her phone

"Uh, excuse me." She said and walked away

"Symphoraphiliacs- they're sexually aroused by disaster. Usually fires or traffic accidents. In this case, the weather must enhance his excitement." I explained to them

"He hunts street kids, so he may be from a similar background. And he's most likely uneducated, but he's still charming enough to engage his victims." Morgan says

"We'll talk to the press. You should warn any transient kids you might know. As this weather gets worse, so will the unsub." Aaron adds

"All right. Let's get to it." The detective said to the department.

* * *

Spencer and Aaron walk back over to the board and Spence starts drawing on it, "All right, the first victim was found missing his right leg, the second, both arms, and the third had no torso. So that leaves the left leg and the head unaccounted for. We can assume the head would be the most difficult piece to find."

"That part would have to fit an unsub's fantasy perfectly." Rossi mentions

"So he'd most likely save it for last. Now, what that tells us is there's a victim out there we haven't found yet who's missing his left leg." Spencer says

"Or the unsub hasn't acquired it yet." Morgan told him

"True, but most body part collectors evolve to this level, and in many cases they exhumes bodies for parts before they start killing."

"All right, let me call Garcia." Morgan says and starts dialing

"So you think our unsub did the same thing." I told Spence

 _"P. G. at your service, don't let the name fool you."_ Garcia said and I smiled

"Baby girl, you're on speaker."

"Garcia, can you look for grave robberies in tornado alley over the last 5 years?" Spencer asked her

 _"Okey-dokey. Searching. Oh. That's a shockingly big list. Who knew grave-robbing was so on trend?"_

"How many of those involve the bodies of teenage boys?" Rossi asked her

 _"Uh... None."_

"What about morgues and funeral homes?" I asked

 _"Momentito... Again, that is a list that should not be that big. Mostly stolen embalming fluid, though."_

"It's often used like PCP, Garcia." Morgan told her

 _"I'm feeling optimistic about the youth of America. There are no teenagers involved in this either."_

"All right, try looking for thefts involving body parts, specifically left legs." Spencer said to her

" _Ok, eew! See, this is why I can't talk about how my day was at dinner. Breakfast, lunch."_ She said and there was a pause, _"Spencer, you scare me."_

"Join the club." Rossi said and Spencer looked at him a little offended and he looked at me, I just smiled and out of habit I bit my lip, I also partly did it because I know how it affects him, not that I needed him distracted right now but it's fun.

 _"A left leg was stolen off a body a year ago at the Riggio Funeral Home in Tulsa. They never found who did it."_

"Garcia, what was the weather like in the area at the time?" Aaron asked her

 _"Uh, thunderstorms and tornadoes. An F2 cyclone hit right around there, and then the robbery took place after they evacuated."_

"It's gotta be our unsub." Morgan says

 _"Wait, there's more. The guy whose leg was stolen, he was a 47-year-old father of 2 who died of leukemia."_

"That's a huge jump. Preferential child sex offenders don't usually stray from their preferred age range." Rossi points out

"It's not about the sex at all. He used the body from the funeral home to develop his M. O. So he could live out his fantasy and kill in a storm." Aaron told him

"It still doesn't explain what or who he's building." Emily mentioned

"Whatever it is, this unsub won't stop until he finds a perfect head. That's the final piece to his puzzle." Spencer said

* * *

"Hey. Thought you were out of here." Morgan said to JJ

"Ohh. Flights are canceled 'cause of the weather."

"How's Henry?" I asked her

"He's headed home. Finally released him."

"That's great news." Rossi said

"Where are you guys off to?" She asked Rossi and Emily

"To the university to talk to some storm chasers." Emily told her

"Stay dry."

"Yeah, right." Rossi said and they left

"Who's that with Hotch?" She asked

"There's been another abduction. A boy named Shaun Rutledge. That's his younger brother Billy." Spencer told her

"He says a young white guy in an RV attacked him with a crowbar in the rain."

"He's also changed his victim selection criteria. The boy he grabbed gets straight As, plays football, even volunteers at his church." I told her

"So he wanted him so badly, he was willing to leave a witness?" JJ asked

"Which suggests he's losing touch with reality and his delusions are starting to take over." Spencer answered

"What is it about this kid that was so attractive to him?" Morgan asked

"He was teenage and Caucasian like the others, right?" JJ asked

"We also think that a sexual element may actually not be at play." I told her

"So then what the hell is driving this guy?" Morgan asked

"Maybe it's love." JJ told us, "What if he's trying to recreate someone he loves?"

"It is an emotion that drives us to extremes." Morgan mentioned

"If he's trying to recreate someone, it's probably somebody he loved and lost." Spencer added

"Wait. You said he was with his big brother, right?" JJ asked

* * *

 _"Holla at your girl."_

"Baby girl, I need those great big beautiful brains of yours." Morgan told her

"Jazz hands ready. Gimme."

"Ok, look at all the teenage male victims or tornadoes in the last 10 years. Same geography as before." Morgan said

 _"That would be male, 13 to 18-42."_

"How many victims had younger brothers that survived?" I asked her

 _"Uh...10."_

"The unsub might have been a high-risk kid. Garcia, how many of the survivors have criminal records?" Aaron asked

 _"I got two for you. First up is 27-year-old Justin Harris, had a DUI in 2008. Next is 22-year-old Travis James. Ooh, little troublemaker. Shoplifting, possession, and prostitution. Oh, my. And all when he was a minor."_

"You got a home address or a vehicle registered in his name?" Aaron asked her

 _"Uh-uh. None."_

"You got a photo on this guy?" Morgan asked

 _"It's on your tablet right now."_

"All right, this is a composite sketch from the description the kid gave." Morgan said, it was a match.

* * *

 _"This poor kid. In 2001, Travis James lost his big brother Tucker and his mom Jan when a tornado hit the McCleary Trailer Park in Enid, Oklahoma." Garcia tells us_

"That's just south of here." Spencer said

"So our guy's a local." JJ mentions and the power went out, I reacted and grabbed Spencer's hand and he gave it a light squeeze, I may be 27 years old but I still hated storms, especially when it was tornado weather

"Oh, that's great." Morgan mumbled

"Hang on, Garcia. The power just went out." Aaron told her and the back up generator kicked on and I quickly let go of Spence's hand

"Garcia, I think we're good. Keep going." Morgan told her

 _"Sometime before this evil tornado touched down, Travis, along with 5 other boys, testified against a one Roscoe Gulch."_

"For what?" I asked her

 _"It appears that this Gulch character was a notorious pedophile in the area, and he was a resident of the same trailer park as Travis and his family. I'm looking at police reports now. It looks like brother Tucker had confronted this Gulch person lots of times. He even broke the creep's nose once."_

"He was protecting his little brother." JJ pointed out

 _"Ohh. And then the plot thickens. According to a statement from Travis, right after Gulch was acquitted, he and his brother went to Gulch's mobile home. A fight ensued. Travis said it was like his big brother went crazy."_

"He was upset about the acquittal and dealt some justice of his own." Aaron mentioned

 _"Travis said he heard tornado sirens. He then ran to a drainage pipe nearby. After that, Tucker and Gulch somehow got trapped in the mobile home when the twister hit. Travis said he saw the mobile home get swallowed up by the tornado. And when he came out there was nothing left."_

"Garcia, how old was Tucker when he was killed?" I asked her

 _"17. He was found in pieces. It took his DNA and dental records to I. D. him. Travis went into foster care and he was reported missing in 2003."_

"He ran away." JJ said

"10 years ago his brother got ripped apart, and now he's trying to put him back together? But why start killing now?"Morgan asked, I see Spencer walk over to the window and look out it.

"Garcia, send me current weather reports for the area, including radar images if you have them." Aaron told her

 _"Ask and you shall receive. It is on your tablets."_

"With the weather in the area, he's going to be so excited, he won't wait. He'll take the boy to the closest area with the most activity." Aaron says and we look at our tablets

"That's right around here, just southeast of us." Morgan adds

"It's Frankenstein." I hear Spencer say

"What?" I asked him

"The unsub isn't just trying to put his brother back together, he's trying to bring him back from the dead. He believes that tornadoes have the power to take life, so conversely, they should have the power to restore it."

"We'll pick up Rossi and Prentiss on the way. Let's go." Aaron said and we left

* * *

 _"Garcia, what have you got?"_ Aaron asked her as we drove through the storm, I was in the SUV behind him, Emily and Rossi with JJ, Morgan and Spencer

 _"Sir, I found your trigger. A year ago, a tornado ripped through a cemetery near Tulsa. One of the 53 graves that was disturbed was that of Tucker James."_

 _"His brother was killed by a storm, then his memorial was destroyed by one. Now he's using both to build a memorial of his own."_ Rossi said

 _"Now that he has that boy's head, the delusion will completely to take over."_ Emily mentioned

 _"Garcia, those storm chasers at the university we talked to, they should be out in full force. I'm sending you their number now. Tell them to be on the lookout for the unsub's RV."_ Rossi told her

 _"And, Garcia, patch into their radio chatter. They'll know where the storms are."_ Aaron adds

 _"On it, my pretties."_

* * *

"We need to head into those areas with the most precipitation." Spencer said from next to me

"So make a right at the next intersection. It should be Pawnee Road." JJ told Morgan

"Hey, how exactly are we supposed to chase this storm?"

"The unsub won't actually chase the storm; to get close to it, you have to get in front of it. It's a little like playing chicken." Spencer said

"Uh-oh." JJ mumbles

"What?" I asked her

"It's frozen."

"Hey, Hotch. We just lost the Internet." Morgan said

 _"I'm frozen up, too."_ I hear Rossi say

 _"The weather must be affecting the upload."_ Emily pointed out

 _"I'm patching Garcia in."_ Aaron says

 _"Yes, boss."_

 _"Garcia, we just lost our Internet and we need you to guide us into the storm."_ Aaron told her

 _"Consider me your eyes and ears, sir."_

* * *

 _"Ok, guys, a twister has been spotted near Rose Hill just south of your position. The storm-chaser dudes are calling it a landspout."_ Garcia told us

"We don't want that one. Land-spout tornadoes are relatively insignificant." Spencer pointed out

"Where to, then?" Morgan asked

"Garcia, look for hook echoes on your monitor." Spencer told her

 _"Okay, hook echoes. Yeah. Ok, I'm gonna do that. Just tell me what they are."_

"They're swirling hook-like radar signatures that look surprisingly like what you'd expect them to." Spencer mentioned

 _"Ok. Uh... No, I don't see anything like that."_ Garcia told him

"They'll likely form in those red and violet areas on the map." He added

 _"I don't see anything that looks even remotely like that."_

"Ok, they shouldn't be too far from our current position. He's close." JJ said to her

 _"Oh, God. No, wait, wait, yes! Yes, I see it. Oh, that's gotta be it. Yes, ye-"_

"Where, Garcia?" I asked her

 _"Oh, no, no."_

"What? What is it?" Morgan asked her

"There are two."

 _"We'll have to split up."_ Emily said

 _"Which way, Garcia?"_ Aaron asked her

"Uh, ok. Half of you can stay in your current heading. The other half, make a... Right on Meadowlark Road."

"Morgan, take Meadowlark Road. We'll keep going." Aaron told him

"Got it."

* * *

"Hey, I just got a hit from the storm-chaser dudes on the RV. You guys are the closest." Garcia told us

"Where are we talking, Garcia?" Morgan asked her

 _"Heading east on Sumner Road just north of your position, make a left on Prairie Creek. It's the next left."_

"You got it. Hang on, guys." He said

* * *

"What's that up there? Near the old house." Spencer asked and we looked where he was pointing, we pull up to the RV we saw and got out.

"Travis James, FBI! Put the weapon down!" Morgan yelled at him as we walk towards him with our guns aimed

"You get back!"

"We can't do that, Travis." Morgan tells him

"I said get back! Are you hard of hearing or something?"

"Just let Shaun go and we can work this out." Morgan said

"That's his name, you know. He has a little brother, too. We know you saw them when you attacked them." JJ said

"Just go! Get out of here, please!"

"Travis, Tucker would not want this. He would want to protect you like he did with Roscoe Gulch." Spencer tells him

"That bastard was guilty!"

"Just let him go and we can help you." I said to him

"We don't need your help!"

"I'm telling you, we need to get to cover now!" The detective tells us as the wind gets stronger and we see the tornado getting closer

"Come on, man, put the weapon down! Put it down!" Morgan tells him and he drops the hatchet, grabs a wrapped up body and runs, Morgan and Spencer go to Shaun and undo his binds while the detective opens the doors to a shelter, I wait by it for Spencer as he walks over with Shaun and I see JJ pull Morgan towards it. Travis walks towards the tornado and we watch as it takes him away, we climb into the shelter and Morgan fights to latch the door finally managing to get it shut, I stand in between JJ and Spencer as Morgan, the detective and Shaun stand on the other side of us as the tornado moves over us, I was holding Spencer's hand honestly not caring at this point it Morgan saw or not, I needed him.

* * *

I was sitting on the floor in the hallway at the station, my heart was still racing, I never liked storms, when I was little every time there was one I would crawl in bed with Aaron and he would read to me. I was so lost in my own thoughts I didn't even notice someone sit down next to me, I looked and saw Aaron sitting there.

"You okay?"

"Just trying to calm my heart down." I told him and he grabbed my hand and I leaned my head on his shoulder, "Remember when I was little and you would read to me every time there was a storm?"

"Mm hmm I do believe that's how you got into Edgar Allan Poe."

"Here I opened wide the door, darkness there and nothing more" I quoted, "Sean always hated it when I would run around him yelling nevermore!' I said with a laugh and Aaron chuckled.

"Well I guess we better get packed up." He said and stood up then helped me up, I saw Spencer out the corner of my eye head down the hall towards the bathroom area.

"I'll be there in a moment." I told him and he nodded and walked away.

I saw Spencer standing by the water cooler getting some water when I looked around then walked over to him, he turned to face me and before he could say anything I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss.

"What was that for?" He asked breathlessly

"Because I love you, and I honestly don't know what I would do without you." I told him and he kissed me again.

"I love you too."

I gave him one more kiss then we broke apart and I headed back towards the others, for the first time in a long time, I was really happy.


	21. Chapter 21

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **2 weeks ago...**

I moved around my kitchen getting everything put together when I heard foot steps com out of my bedroom, I turned around and saw Spencer walking over.

"Good morning" He said and I walked around my counter.

"No go away get back into bed" I told him and he looked at me with a tired confused look.

"Why?"

"Because I'm making you breakfast in bed now shoo." I told him and he raised his hands in defeat walking back toawrds the room. A few minutes later I walked in carrying a tray and saw Spencer sitting on the bed with his back against the headboard. He helped me set the tray down and I crawled into bed next to him.

"Now why did you make me breakfast in bed?" He asked me and I looked at him

"Because today is the day 30 years ago that your mom gave birth to the man I am so madly in love with." I told him and he kissed me.

"You didn't have to make me breakfast though."

"Yes I did," I told him lean leaned over to my nightstand and opened it grabbing out a small wrapped box, "Just like I wanted to get you this." I told him and handed it to him.

"Liz.."

"Ah ah! Don't even, you were allowed to give me something for my birthday so I am allowed to get you something." I told him and he unwrapped it, "You pretty much own every book I could think of to get you so I decided to go with something different." I said and he smiled, it was a silver pocket watch with a picture of me and him that I took when we went to Vegas to see his mom on the inside.

"I love it." He said and kissed me

"Turn it over." I told him and he did, on the back it said 'Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore.'

"Liz, I don't even know what to say." He said and I kissed his cheek

"You need to say anything. Happy Birthday Spencer." I said and he kissed me again, "Now eat, we have to get ready to go soon." I told him and we ate our breakfast.

* * *

 **Present...**

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"In the end, I just write about violent crime. The real heroes are the people here beside me. Now give a warm welcome to our next speaker, Dr. Spencer Reid of the BAU." Patricia Cornwell said and we all clapped, I was sitting in a chair next to another guy as I watched Spencer walk up to the stand

"Thank you. Thanks. Patricia Cornwell, ladies and gentlemen. Ms. Cornwell will be signing books at the end of the session." He said and there was feedback as he fixed the mic, "Sorry. Um... Hi. I am here today to talk to you about paraphilias and their relation to violent crime. Does anybody know what dendrophilia is?" He asked and everyone stayed quiet, "Yes a fetish for trees."

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I stood away from Elizabeth as she was talking to a couple of people, she was so beautiful, I had the pocket watch she gave me 2 weeks ago for my birthday in my pocket, nobody really asked me where I got it or to see it so I knew that they wouldn't see the picture of me and her, we still weren't ready to let everyone know yet, "Thank you so much for coming out, you guys, and as for your question earlier, the case that we were following at the time was the David Parker Ray case. We actually believed that the victim count in that case was close to 60. Unfortunately, we were only able to unearth 45 bodies, but SSA Buffalino, um, has been diligent..." She tells them, I look over at Patricia who was signing books and I walked out the door.

"Dr. Reid?" I heard someone say and I turned around, "Hey, you were fantastic up there." The guy said to me

"Thank you." I said shaking his hand

"Yeah. I love the names of those paraphilias. I have a new list to memorize." He said

"You like memorizing lists?" I asked him

"I'm weird that way."

"That's not weird at all. I do it all the time. You know, we don't usually get people your age here. You're in school, I assume?" I asked

"Yeah, I'm a senior at Michigan."

"You know what? You might like the FBI's internship program. Unfortunately, we're already past the deadline, but if you write me a letter, I might be able to pull some strings." I told him handing him one of my cards

"Uh... Thanks. But I don't think my Board of Directors would allow it. I have a company. Have you heard of Nanovex?" He asked me

"Nanovex, as in the company Landis Pharmaceuticals investing 100 million dollars in, Nanovex?"

"It's not a done deal yet. Uh, but, hey, you were awesome up there. You saved me from a company party downstairs that was a total snoozefest. Keep up the good work." He said "You, too" I told him and he walked away and Elizabeth walked up to me.

"Who was that?" She asked me

"That was the founder of Nanovex."

"I've never heard of it." She said

"They make magnetically responsive nano particles for targeted drug delivery to tumor cells."

"I've still never heard of it." She said with her beautiful smile.

"You will. It's gonna change the world."

"Hmm alright then." She said and kissed me on the lips lightly, I will never not want to kiss her, "Come on."

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Have any letters or ciphers been received?" Spencer asked Aaron as we walked into the scene

"Agent Lin, this is Dr. Reid, Agent Elizabeth." Aaron introduced us

"How was the conference?" JJ asked

"Enlightening." Spencer answered

"Has the unsub made any contact?" I asked the detective

"The "Chronicle's" website manager received two phone calls this morning. There was just heavy breathing on the other end. Like the phone calls Zodiac used to make."

"Can I get a physical copy of the online version of today's paper?" Spencer asked her

"You want a printout of the online version?"

"Yeah. With all the comments printed out as well, if possible, thanks."

The detective looked at JJ confused

"Don't ask."

"It's not the real Zodiac." Spencer said walking over to the car

"How can you be so sure?" I asked him

"I just know it." He said and leaned down to look in the car, "Sometimes I can't really explain it."

* * *

"The dates match. When Zodiac stopped killing, my cousin was put in a mental hospital in Mexico. He was released 2 months ago." We hear a guy tell some reporters as we walked up the steps to the building we were going to be working in

"Do you have anything more specific?" the female reporter asked him

"He was working on a production of "The Mikado" in '68. The Zodiac talked about The Mikado" in a letter."

"Excuse me. I'm Dr. Reid with the Behavioral Analysis Unit. Was your cousin by chance a fan of Wagner? Because a Cd of the "Tragic Overture" was sent to the police this morning." Spencer asked him

"He loved Wagner, especially the "Tragic Overture." It's him."

"Oh, yeah. Well, for the record, a CD was not sent to the police this morning, and the "Tragic Overture" was written by Brahms, not Wagner, so luckily, I guess it's not your cousin. The FBI would greatly appreciate it if people would stop making false claims to get their 15 minutes of fame. Thank you. Thank you very much." Spencer said and we walked into the building.

* * *

 _"No one at the south entrance yet."_ one of the cops said over the radio

 _"Copy that."_ JJ responded

"We've got a vehicle." Aaron said from in front of me and looked into his binocular, "It's a lone driver." We see the car stop and someone with a hood on get out and headed towards the 'couple' sitting on the bench, "Move in." Aaron said and we made our way out from behind the tree, "FBI. Show me your hands." Aaron tells him as we all draw our guns, "Drop it." the guy drops what he was holding as Morgan cuffed him

"I'm just the messenger. I'm supposed to deliver a letter."

"It's for Spencer" I said picking it up and handed it to him

"You're not as smart as you think you are."

"Who sent it?" Aaron asked the man

"I don't know. I just deliver it to the address when I'm supposed to."

"If the unsub's not here, where is he?" JJ asked

* * *

"It's a high vantage point. The victims chose it for the view, the unsub so he could see if anyone was coming." I told Spencer as we walked along the crime scene and his phone rings.

"Hey, what's up?" He said and there was a pause, "All right, thanks, Garcia." He said and hung up, "He used the same code that was broken years ago in a riddle we cracked in seconds. He knew we'd solve it. It was a decoy." He tells Aaron and JJ

"No, it's a taunt. He wants to prove that he's smarter than everyone." Aaron tells him

"And we fell for it. Well, if he's trying to compete with me, then it means he's most likely within 5 years of my age. The question is why."

"But the message might not have been meant for you, Reid." Aaron says

"A letter was hand-delivered to me last night." Spence points out

"The comment to the paper was written at 9:03 a.m. We weren't even in the city yet, so how would the unsub know you'd be involved in the case?" I asked

"You did give your name to the press later that day, and you said yourself he knew we'd be in the park." JJ mentions

"If he's doing his best to emulate the Zodiac, killing in such quick succession would be a mistake." I said

"The shortest time span for a Zodiac was two weeks?" JJ asked us

"Maybe the unsub doesn't have a choice. Maybe he's experiencing a time pressure that he has no control over." I said

"We're ready to give the profile." Aaron said and we started to walk away.

"Are you okay?" I asked Spencer

"I'm fine, I just don't like being toyed with." He said and I grabbed his hand and squeezed it

"I know sweetie, but if there's one thing I know for sure is that no one can out smart you." I told him and he gave me a small smile and I let go of his hand

* * *

"Unlike the real Zodiac, whose goal was mass hysteria, this copycat's message is directed at an individual woman with whom he's obsessed." Aaron says to everyone in the room

"The women that he's killed so far have been surrogates for her. He was either rejected or believes that he can't have her, so he feels a rage towards this woman and any man that she's with." Morgan added

"His actions may be an attempt to impress the object of his obsession or prove his love." I point out

"The unsub chose to copy the Zodiac because he wants to feel as brilliant, famous, and powerful as his predecessor." Rossi says

"You should be looking for a physically fit male in his 20s to 30s. He's highly intelligent, but he holds a menial or low-level job. He has few friends and fantasizes of a world in which he feels special." JJ tells them

"And the frequency of the kills suggests that he may be on the verge of losing the object of his obsession." Aaron finished

* * *

"Hey." I said to Spencer as I walked over to where he was sitting and sat down across from him, "Are you gonna tell me what's up?" I asked but he didn't answer, Spence, it's me."

He leaned back in his chair and stopped writing, "Do you even wonder if you lived up to expectations?"

"Mm... I beat them. I figured I'd end up as a starving artist by 25." I told him with a smile

"I thought I'd cure schizophrenia by the time I was 25. You know, when I was a kid, people told me that I could do anything."

"You're afraid you've let people down?" I asked him

"No, I'm afraid I've let myself down." He said

"By not curing schizophrenia?" I asked

"No, just because... I don't know why I'm in the FBI."

"I see. You're a genius, but you have the same job as me, Morgan, JJ." I said to him

"Yeah, exactly. No, that's not what I'm saying." He said with a laugh, "It's just sometimes- sometimes I kind of get this feeling like- like maybe I should have done something more with my life."

"The fact of the matter is you're young. There's still time." I tell him

"By the time Nicola Tesla was 30, he'd already invented the induction motor."

"You know what? You might be right. You don't hear that much about child prodigies once they grow up. In fact, most of them turn out average." I tell him and he smiled

"That's not true. Are you trying reverse psychology with me?"

"I'm just telling it like it is babe." I said and grabbed the paper he had

"What are you doing?"

"Well, you just told me yourself you're washed up. I should take a look at this." I said and started writing on it

"That's not what I'm saying. It's-seriously, what are you doing?"

"I'm just looking to see what you missed."

"Don't do-you're gonna actually mess it up. Liz- give it back." He said and grabbed it, "Wait a minute, that's it. The real code is in the words." He said and starts marking on the paper, "China Weekly Post, " page F-4.", He says and I grab my phone, he stood up and walked over to me putting his hands on my face and kissed me, "Have I ever told how much I love you?"

"All the time." I tell him and he kisses me again and we leave to meet up with Aaron

* * *

"The spam had to be converted from matrix code to binary code, then switched to base 8 before being translated back into letters. I can go into more detail if you want." Spencer told Aaron as we walked down the street

"Uh, no." Aaron said and snickered, "How smart would a person have to be to write code like that?" He asked Spencer

"Beyond smart. Profoundly gifted. An I. Q. Of at least 160."

"That changes the profile, then." I tell him as we walk into China Post

"The unsub could still hold a menial or low-level job. Many believe that beyond an I. Q. Of 120, success is determined by other factors. This is a bilingual paper. The English version should be somewhere." Spencer said looking through the newspapers, "All right, this is it." Spencer said showing Aaron the paper as he read it

"You could do some much better." Aaron says

"I'll talk to the manager, see if they know who placed the ad." I said and walked back inside

* * *

"All ads have to be placed in person at the "China Weekly Post." This ad was placed a week ago by a white male in his 20s or early 30s." I tell Morgan, Rossi and Aaron

"A week ago? This was highly premeditated." Morgan said and I nodded

"The unsub kidnapped someone from the back of the cab. That could be who the messages were for." Rossi inputted

"Check with the cab dispatcher. Find out where the driver's last fare was picked up. Morgan, see if there are any missing persons in that neighborhood." Aaron tells them

"JJ and I can look for ATM and other surveillance cameras near the newspaper." I told Aaron and his phone rang

"What do you have, Garcia?" He asked her

 _"Precious information. The little boy in the photo, his name is Robbie Shaw, he disappeared from Mill Valley in 2000 and no suspects were ever identified."_

* * *

"Hey. We went through all the surveillance footage near the newspaper. There's nothing." I tell Rossi and Morgan

"Spence, you ok?" JJ asked him as he flips through the stuff that was on the board

"Nothing is accidental. Nothing this unsub does is accidental. The message in the "China Weekly Post" was on page F-4. Why F-4?"

"That's where the classifieds were." Morgan told him

"It's more than that."

* * *

"Can you rotate that?" Spencer asked the guy at the computer as we look at the map of San Francisco, "See, F-4 is a chess square."

"He murdered people according to a chess game?" JJ asked him

"Specifically game 6 of Fischer versus Spassky in 1972, one of the greatest chess matches ever played. The murder locations correspond with the final 3 moves of the game."

 _"Garcia's lair of knowledge and wisdom."_

"Garcia, you have the list of Zodiac case experts?" Aaron asked her

 _"Yes. Standing by for you. I have everyone who's ever written or blogged about it. FYI, there are way too many people obsessed with this sicko."_

"All right, cross-reference that with professional chess players." Aaron says

 _"Oh, that totally helps. Yeah. Ok. List is getting smaller and smaller... Down to nothing."_

"All right, open it up to high-level amateurs as well." Aaron tells her

* * *

"Go ahead, Garcia." Aaron tells her

 _"Get ready to love me more. I did a search of chess players rated 2, 200 or higher, which would make them Masters but not necessarily professionals. I cross-referenced that search with Zodiac experts and came up with two former chess prodigies and best friends who used to write about the Zodiac in their junior high school newspaper. And I get bonus points because they both have IQ's over 160."_

"Where are they?" Aaron asked her

 _"In San Francisco. Caleb Rossmore is a city parks employee. Harvey Morell is an engineer at a Chinese computer firm. He's about to get married, and, yes, I just emailed you all this information right now."_ She said and JJ grabbed her tablet

"The fiancee Marisa Devon looks like the two female victims. They were surrogates for her."

"Caleb could be jealous of his friend."

"Or what if he's afraid of losing Harvey?" I asked

"If he was a child prodigy, he may no longer feel special as an adult. He could be trying to hold on to him." Spencer pointed out

"Harvey's engagement could have been a trigger." Rossi mentioned

"Reid, I know Spassky conceded the match, but what would the next move have been?" Aaron asked

"Spassky would have been checkmated or he would have lost his Queen."

* * *

 _"Spassky's Queen was in square E-8, so that would land us in Richmond. Garcia, is there a connection between that location and the two men?"_ Spencer asked her in the car in front of me, JJ and Rossi

 _"Checking now. Uh... Bingo. Harvey's dad worked there as a chemistry teacher in the sixties. And... Oh, uh, Caleb lived there in 2008. He worked at the Powerlinks Gym on Second and Hill and the Dragon Temple Restaurant at 636 Mason."_

 _"All right. JJ, you go to the gym. We'll check out the restaurant."_ Aaron tells her

"Copy that.

"Zablonsky's wife recognized the photos of Caleb and Harvey. They interviewed the detective for an article they were writing about the Zodiac when they were kids." Rossi tells Garcia

 _"They wrote a crime beat column in the newspaper."_

"One of them stole the photo left at the first crime scene." JJ says

 _"It had to be Caleb. The message, "You could do so much better" in the Chinese paper was meant for Harvey."_ Spencer tells us

"That means the original spam message was for him, too." I point out

 _"But how did Caleb know that Harvey wouldn't turn him in?"_ Morgan asked

 _"Caleb has something on him or he's holding the fiancee hostage."_ Spencer added

 _"Shut the front door. They were interviewed by police in 2000 about a crime in their hometown."_ Garcia tells us

* * *

"Hey, Spence." I say to him as he gets out of the elevator, "Um, Aaron wants to talk to you." I tell him and he groans, "What's wrong?"

"He probably wants to talk to me about why I've been kind of weird lately."

"You are making a difference, you know, one person at a time." I said to him, I really wanted to kiss him right now but I had to settle for putting my hand on his arm

"Thank you. You know, I've been thinking a lot lately about why I stayed after Gideon left, why I didn't take any of those other offers."

"Nothing is accidental." I said

'And I realized, I don't know, there's just something incredibly right about being here, with you guys." He said and I smiled, "Especially you."

"Spence." I scolded and he smiled, "Well, I'm glad to hear that. Otherwise this would have been really awkward." I told him

"What would have been really awkward?" He asked and I lead him to the round room

"Surprise! Surprise! Happy Birthday!" Everyone cheered and I saw the smile on his face widen, I had brought it up to JJ that Spencer was 30 and she felt bad because they missed his birthday, then she teased me by saying I had an advantage because I was dating him

JJ hugged him, Aaron shook his hand and asked if he felt 30, Rossi came over and kissed both of Spencer's cheeks,

"Happy Birthday, old man." Morgan said and hugged him, "Almost 40 now."

"I'm getting close." Spencer said and GArcia held up a cake with the number 30 on it, and Spencer blew out the candles.

* * *

Me and Spencer sat on my couch in front of the fire place snuggled up, "So what did you wish for?" I asked him

"Nothing, I have everything I could possibly want."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"You." He said and I looked at him and smiled, "I love you more then anything Liz, I can't picture what my life would be like if I never met you."

"I love you too Spence." I said and kissed him


	22. Chapter 22

**The Beauty and the Geek**

My alarm clock went off and I smacked around my dresser until I hit it, I rolled over in my bed expecting Spencer to still be there but he wasn't. I dragged myself up and headed into the kitchen where I saw him standing at my stove with his back facing me wearing a long brown coat and a scarf, him and Garcia were going to the Sci-Fi convention in town, he was dressed as the 4th doctor from Doctor who and Garcia was going as 11. Believe me when I say I loved that show too and would go if I could but it was fun picking on him for dressing that way.

I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist from behind, "Good morning." I told him and he faced me giving me a kiss

"Good morning beautiful."

"Whatcha doing?" I asked and he turned back to the stove.

"Making us breakfast before I have to meet up with Garcia."

I moved next to him leaning my back against the counter, "Mmm, I was kind of hoping to have my breakfast in bed if you know what I mean." I said and he looked at me.

"What do you mean?" He asked and I smiled

"Think about it."

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion then I saw the light bulb go off, "Oh"

"Mmhmm"

He set down the spatula and took off his coat then before I knew it he swept me up and headed to the bedroom.

"Spencer you didn't turn the stove off." I said and he turned around, I reached down turning it off then he continued what he was doing.

After he left I cleaned up the now cold breakfast, showered, got dressed I headed over to Aaron's. I was gonna spend the day with him, Jack and Beth, Aaron's well girlfriend, I like her she's nice and understands that he's a single dad.

* * *

I arrived at Aaron's apartment the same time Beth did and I saw her walking down the hall.

"Hey Beth." I said as I caught up to her, she was carrying 2 coffees and a bag

"Oh hey Elizabeth how are you?" she asked me

"I'm good you?"

"I'm good, are you excited for today?" She asked

"Oh yeah, Jack told me he's been looking forward to this." I told her and we reached his door.

"I'm excited to, and thanks for coming along."

"It's not a problem." I said with a smile and she knocked on the door

"Good morning." Aaron said opening the door

"Breakfast is served." Beth told him and handed him the coffees and bag

"Thank you." He told her and gave her a kiss then she walked in.

"Morning Liz." He says to me and I give him a hug.

"Are we early?" Beth asked him

"No, no, no. We're running late. We're just having too good of a time." Aaron tells us and Jack runs up to us.

"Beth! Auntie Elizabeth come look at our for!" Jack says and grabs Beth's hand dragging her to the dining room wearing a cape.

"Wow! You guys! This is inspired." She says and we both kneel down.

"Buddy this is better then the one I made when I was your age." I told Jack, me and him crawl in

"Where's your cape?" Beth asked Aaron

"Uh I'm wearing it." He told her and I chuckled

"Come and see inside." Jack told Beth and she and Aaron crawled under

"Wow. Ohh!"

"We slept in here all night." Aaron says

"It sounds so much fun. I'm jealous." Beth says and I nod

"We're going to do it again tonight, right, Dad?" Jack asked Aaron

"Sure, buddy. No problem."

"Could Beth sleep over?" Jack asked, both Beth and Aaron laughed "Could she?" he asked again and I shook my head

* * *

"You ok?" JJ asked Will when she came over to him after we got called into a bank robbery, she gave him a hug.

"Yeah. It's definitely them. I only saw the King and the Jack, but I figure the Queen's inside, too."

"The media's calling them the Face Cards." Aaron tells us and we start walking, "7 bank robberies in 7 months. They've killed one person at each robbery."

"M. O.?" Rossi asked him

"Single gunshot wound. Each of the victims has bled out."

"Serial killers with a 30-day cooling-off period and we're only just hearing about this now?" I asked

"Well, headquarters has always characterized them robbers first and killers second." Aaron says

"No one kills 7 people without serious psychopathic tendencies." Spencer pointed out

"I disagreed with the original assessment. I was overruled." Aaron mentions

"So why are we here now?" Rossi asked

"Because crisis negotiation is overseas."

"What more do we know about them?" JJ asked

"They're organized, they're efficient. Each strike lasts about 2 minutes." Aaron tells her and we walk again

"They gotta be scouting the banks in advance. Why haven't we been able to ID them off of surveillance footage?" Morgan asked and we walked into the mobile command center

"They hack the security feed and turn off the cameras, both during the initial canvas and during the robbery, until the masks come back on, and then we're allowed to watch." Aaron tells him

* * *

"They're using the hostages as human shields." Rossi pointed out as we looked at the monitors

"This is the first time they've been interrupted. What went wrong?" JJ asked

"It's a big bank. It's possible they weren't about to round everybody up before someone triggered an alarm." Emily says

"Why haven't they cut the feed now that they've been cornered? Letting us see inside gives up a tactical advantage. They gotta know that." Morgan mentions

"They don't seem to care." Aaron says

"They're overconfident. Arrogant, even." I said

"The face card masks add to their narcissism. Their personas are the royalty of poker." Spencer informs us from next to me.

"Elizabeth, JJ, Reid, and Prentiss, look at past robberies. That's gonna be our victimology. Pull another analyst if you need to." Aaron tells us and we left

* * *

"In 6 robberies no one's been able to build a sketch of the unsubs before they put their masks on. These witness descriptions are all over the map." Emily tells us as we look over the files

"Probably because of the trauma suffered inside. They've been zig-zagging north and south but in a relative straight pattern from Washington, D. C." Spencer points out

"This is the largest bank they've hit. Before today, it's just been small branches in rural communities." JJ added

"So today was always a part of their plan. But why the nation's capital?" I asked "To make a statement?"

"I pulled schematics from the previous banks. This is the first one with metal detectors. Maybe that's what went wrong." Kevin, Garcia's ex, said walking into the room and placed a blueprint in front of us

"No, they cased the branches too well in advance. They'd know to be ready for them. These are takeover robberies. No faces, no passing notes, no prints. They're professionals." Emily says to him

"Hey, there is something all these robberies have in common. The Queen's the only one who pulls the trigger." I tell them

* * *

"The woman chose a different type of victim each time. It's not just the security guard. It's been a mother, a manager, and a young child." Spencer said

"She shoots them in the gut. They bleed out while they rob the bank." JJ adds

"She's sadistic. She gets off on her victims' pain and the fear it incites in those around her." Emily mentioned

"It also appears the King is in charge of the money-grabbing operation while the Queen keeps track of time making sure they're in an out in under two minutes." Spencer inputted

"She's more in control of the operation than they let on." I said

"Turning the King and Queen against each other could be the key to disarming them." Spencer pointed out

"He's not a killer. That could be our in." JJ agreed

"Only if the Jack doesn't die. If he does..." Emily started to say but we knew what she was thinking

* * *

"Agent Prentiss, there's a call for you from Interpol." someone said to her while she stared at the screen

"Take a message, please."

"It's Clyde Easter." He told her and she turned to look at him

"Your old unit chief?" Spencer asked

"He says he has information about the Queen of Diamonds."

* * *

 _"What if the smaller banks were training runs from the Stratton brothers?"_ Rossi says

 _"Well, it could be. She took two relatively amateur thugs and turned them into an elite team of efficient bank robbers."_ Morgan mentioned

"But why? To turn them into patsies?" Emily asked

All right, ok, so let's look at it. Up until now they've been highly organized, striking only on deposit days, when the most amount of cash is on hand." JJ tells us

"But today's different. It's their first Saturday hit, where families are present, more foot traffic throughout the day." Spencer points out

 _"It's a riskier attack."_ Will said

 _"We should consider the media attention, too. It's the first time they've had an audience."_ Aaron adds

"That might be why the female unsub is so vain. She wants to look good for the cameras." I said

 _"She searches the bank but doesn't actually look for a means of escape. She appears to be almost enjoying the situation."_ Rossi inputs

 _We know the brothers are in it for the money. What's she in it for?"_ Aaron asked

* * *

"Ok, so what's the significance of Chad?" I asked

"A 2008 coup attempt plunged them into political instability. They're currently in the middle of a civil war." Spencer answered and Emily takes out her phone

"There's gotta be more to it than that." She says then holds the phone to her ear, "Our ghost wants to go to Chad. I'm figuring you're my best chance of finding out why." there was a pause, "They said they could fly themselves there, nothing suggests that Chris would have that ability so she must." She says, "Work for Interpol again? That'll be the day." She scoffed, "It's a hell of a time to bring that up. You find me a connection I can use and maybe we'll discuss it." She says then hangs up

* * *

"There's no clear line of sight to the vault." Will tells Morgan as me, JJ and Emily walk over to them

"No, but if we come in, that's where they'll go. We need to be ready for it."

"Garcia caught us up. Why instigate a hostage situation?" Emily asked him

"What's a narcissist without attention? She thrives on it."

"She must have something bigger in mind." JJ added

"We need to separate Chris and the female to find out what that is." I said

"It's not going to be hard. They're already on edge." Morgan tells us

* * *

"No. No, forget it." JJ tells us

"JJ, if it means we can end this..." Will started to say

"What makes you think he won't shoot you the minute you walk inside?" She asked him

"Look, he wants out of there just as much as we want him out."

"It's not happening. Forget it." She says

"There's no guarantee he won't retaliate for the death of his brother." Aaron told him

"I know you'd do it if you were me."

"Will, I get what you're feeling, but you are too close to this case to make that call." Morgan said

"You're damn right I'm close. 4 people are dead because I shot his brother. And no one else needs to die 'cause of what I did."

"This isn't about you." Morgan tells him

Risking your life won't bring them back." JJ says

"Sorry, Will." Aaron tells him

* * *

"He's threatening to shoot more hostages unless he has Will." Emily tells us coming into the command center

"Screw this. I'm going in." Will said standing up

"No, you're not. We are." Aaron says

* * *

"What is he doing?" JJ asked and we saw Will walking towards the bank, JJ went to go after him but Morgan grabbed her, "No. No, no, no. No, no. Morgan- Let me go, please!"

"I can't do that." Morgan told

"Will! Will! Will! Will"

A few minutes after Will walked into the bank we heard a gunshot, JJ put her hand over her mouth and I put my hand on her shoulder.

* * *

We all sat in the command center, there was nothing but static on the screen, we just sat there quietly while JJ stared into nothing, "Did you see where he was shot? Is he alive or dead, Garcia?" She asked her

"I don't know."

"He was wearing a vest. He might be ok." I told her

"Might be."

"They're not answering." Rossi tells us walking in

"All right, we need to get inside." JJ said standing up

"JJ, it's too risky. We don't have eyes in there anymore." Morgan told her and she looked at Aaron

"Aaron..." she said to him

"Let's go in."

* * *

 _"We've got movement."_

"Somebody's coming out. Be ready. It's hostages." Morgan says over the radio

 _"Copy. Standing by for entry."_

We're going in." Morgan says to the guy on the radio and me, him and JJ move forward getting behind SWAT guys, Emily is on the other side of the building near the other exit. I keep one hand on the back of the SWAT guy as we slowly move forward and the next thing I knew there was a blast and we were knocked off our feet.

* * *

I slowly regain consciousness, there's a horrible ringing in my ears and everything is muffled but I faintly hear someone yell my name, I look up and see Aaron kneeling by me and he helps me stand.

"Are you okay?" I barely heard him ask and I look at him confused, "Are you okay?" He asked again and all the sounds around us flooded my ears.

"I'm-i'm okay." I said as I become aware of everything and Aaron goes over to a fallen SWAT member

"Where's Will?" I hear JJ asked and I look at her, "Where is Will? Did he get out of there?"

"Where's Emily?" I asked and JJ runs into the building

"JJ!" Morgan yelled and we followed her

"Will!" JJ yells

"Emily!" Morgan shouted as well

 **Spencer POV...**

I paced back and forth behind Kevin, Elizabeth has to be okay, she just has to, we promised each other.

"I can't get through. Even the SAT phone's got a busy signal. What do we do? What are we supposed to do?" Kevin asked me and I looked at the screen watching the building blow up

"I'm gonna get over there." I said, I need to hold her, I don't care who sees.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Emily?" Morgan yelled as we made our way through the blown up bank

"Over here!" We hear her yell and we made our way over

"You all right?" I asked her kneeling down next to her

"Yeah. They were hiding back here."

"Can we move them?" Morgan asked her

"Yeah, with help. He's unconscious."

"Just let me stay with him. Please." The old lady tells us

"I can't find Will. Have you seen him?" JJ asked her

"He might be down below." Emily told her and JJ walked away Morgan followed shortly after

"We're gonna get you out of here." I told the lady

"He's my love of 66 years. My story." She said and I fought back tears, my heart broke for her because I knew how she felt, it may have only been 7 months since we've been dating, but Spencer was my story as well, and all I wanted was to have him hold me and kiss me right now and not care who saw.

* * *

"As Agent Hotchner told you, they want you to admire them. Leaving the cameras on was their way to brag about how much fear they were creating." Strauss tells the cops

"We need to know what happened, specifically the unsubs' behavior in the minutes leading up to the blast. You'll be interviewing the survivors. They'll be in various stages of shock, but any information you might get could be the key to apprehending these suspects." Aaron added

"Agent Hotchner has compiled a series of questions for you to ask them." I said as well

"These questions are on your phones now." Garcia says

"Thank you." Aaron finished, me and Garcia turned around and saw Spencer and Kevin coming up to us, I wanted nothing more then to run into Spencer's arms but Strauss was standing there.

"Are you okay?" Spencer asked me

"I'm okay, bell got a little run and my head feels like it has a nail in it but I'm okay." I told him and we looked at each other, both wanting to hold each other and I could tell by the look on his face he wanted to say the exact same thing I wanted to say, "I know, me too" I said and we walked over to Aaron.

"Morgan and JJ said that the blast created a hole between the underground vaults and these tunnels." Aaron tells us as we look at a map

"You know, most of these older banks are made of granite or limestone for longevity." Spencer points out

"So she knew to use a combination of C-4 and Semtex to open her escape route?" I asked him

"The tunnels let out at multiple points running west. She could still be underground."

"I don't know, this is what she does, She probably waited till the last minute to exit. She wants to see all this chaos." Aaron adds

"So we need to find the tunnel exit closest to the bank." Spencer says

"Looks like it's two blocks here, just outside the perimeter" Aaron tells us

* * *

"JJ and Morgan said the unsubs were in an alley northwest of the perimeter." Spencer tells Garcia as she searches video footage

"Yeah, this footage confirms it. Ok, I can see two figures in the car. Please tell me one of them is Will."

"See how she's turned. It's like she's keeping an eye on someone in the back." Aaron pointed out

"Does this mean Will's in the car?" Garcia asked him

"There's somebody back there."

"What's the license plate?" Spencer asked

"That's weird. They're government tags."

"Federal or district?" I asked her

"Federal."

"Well, they're either stolen or forged." Spencer adds

"Who the hell are these people?" Garcia asked and Strauss walked in

"They set up roadblocks in the district from 66 to Dulles."

"Wait. So we're looking for a black SUV with its sirens on. Well that's gonna stand out." I told her.

"Will's with them. I found his wallet." JJ tells us as her and Morgan came in

"It benefits them to keep Will alive." Aaron told her

"They must have a safe house set up." Morgan tells us

"Whoever their outside man is, that's where they're heading now." Emily adds

"But where? What's their end game?" JJ asked

"There's no logical reason. They want to create panic." Rossi says

"She's struck all over the world, which says she might not be American, but her ideology certainly speaks to Washington." Spencer told us, "Whatever point she and her partner are making, it's important that D. C.'s the setting."

"The brothers were from Philadelphia. The other partner might be homegrown as well." Emily said

"Homeland's sending over a list of possibilities." Strauss inputted

"They're not on anyone's list." Aaron told her

"Then how do we find them?" She asked him

"We find the common denominators between all 14 robberies and we go from there."

"So she's our only answer?" Strauss asked

"For now."

"I'll call Easter at Interpol again. Now that there's been an explosion, he might have some ideas." Emily said, got up and left

* * *

"That was the lab. Semtex and C-4 like we thought. Red, blue, and yellow wires in each, old cell phone used as a detonator." Morgan told us hanging up the phone

"How old is the phone?" Emily asked him

"10 years."

"That's specific and rare." Emily says

"Ridiculously."

Well, has anyone seen it before?" She asked

"It was last seen in a number of bombings in Chad."

"For a signature that specific, they must have been there to learn it." Emily points out

"Did Easter have any insight?" Aaron asked her

"A woman they called Lady X stole a sedan from Scotland Yard 8 years ago. The investigation concluded she was a trained assassin. She disappeared."

"So Lady X and Queen of Diamonds is the same person?" I asked

"It sounds like it."

"Garcia, look at assassination attempts around the civil unrest in Chad." Aaron told her

"If she was a hired gun, she was likely taking orders from someone." Spencer say

"Maybe she's still working for the same guy now and he's still pulling the strings." JJ added

"Or maybe she's found her equal." Aaron mentions

"Their obsession with killing and domination has culminated in what we've seen today." I said

"Getting off on the disaster they've created. Classic symphorphiliacs." Spencer tells us and I nod

"Then this isn't over." Morgan said

"Far from it." Rossi added

"No. Now that they've gotten away with this, where are they gonna strike next?" Aaron asked

* * *

Spencer pulled me out of sight of everyone and when we were alone he pulled me to him and kissed my head, my temple, my cheek and finally my mouth then pulled me into a hug.

"I was so scared." He said and I nuzzled my face into his neck.

"I know, I'm sorry." I told him and he moved my head so I was looking at him.

"Don't be sorry, we didn't know she was going to blow up the bank."

"After we found Emily she was sitting with an old married couple and the lady didn't want to leave her husband, her husband of 66 years, she told us he was her story and I-" I said swallowing the lump in my throat, "-I couldn't help but think that for how long we've known each other and how we have been together for 7 months. You're my story Spence, and I fall in love with you more and more each day and I've been thinking that maybe we could move in together." I told him and he put my face in his hands and kissed me.

"I think that's a great idea and I would love to, but wouldn't that mean we would have to tell people?" He asked me

"Not necessarily, I mean unless you wanted to, but we don't have to tell people if we still aren't ready."

He looked at me then pulled me against him, "I would love for us to move in together, question is though. Your place or mine?" He asked and I giggled.

"We can talk about that later, right now let's catch this woman." I told him and we headed back towards the others.

* * *

"The explosion was a distraction so they could escape. Watch." Aaron told us when looked at the screen

"Allow me to fast-forward. All right, here's where Chris started shooting hostages." Kevin tells us and we watch everyone flinch but one person, "The fella next to him didn't even flinch. Doesn't even break a sweat. We know he's ex-military, but still..."

"His name is Matthew Downs. That's what he told Rossi and he wasn't lying. History shows dishonorable discharge from USMC in '04." Garcia adds

"Ok, do me a favor. Keep going. To where Will walks in." Emily tells her, "Ok, now watch him." Emily says pointing to the guy, "And then... Look at her. Her partner was in there the whole time, just not in the way that we thought. They shot this whole thing like a home movie."

"He could have been killed." Spencer mentioned

"No, she wouldn't let that happen." Aaron tells him

"What the hell are they doing?" Kevin asked

"It's all part of their plan." Aaron told him

"They've created scenarios that are practically impossible to survive. When they make it, it's the ultimate high." Spencer says

"Like an adrenaline junkie." Kevin pointed out

"Nobody can find Matthew Downs. ERT said that he helped them, then he disappeared." Strauss tells us walking in.

* * *

"Of course Will thought Matthew was a hostage. Why wouldn't he? There's a good chance Will tried to help him out. He told him when to go for the doors or offered to be a hostage to save the others." I tell everyone, Rossi and JJ were on the trail to find Will

 _"I'm sure he did."_ Rossi said

"Well, there's a flip side to this. This guy could have gotten into Will's head. Is there anything you want to tell your family in case you don't make it?" Morgan pointed out

 _"You think Will told them about JJ and Henry?"_ Rossi asked

"Unknowingly." Aaron answered

* * *

"So why didn't they take all the money?" Spencer asked as we walked through the blown up bank

"They were a man down and they had to get out in a hurry." Morgan answered

"But for her, today was less about the money and more about the spectacle." Emily says

"Everything they've said and done was for a reason. But what doesn't make any sense is she switched the negotiation demand. Chris wanted to go to Switzerland. She changed it to Chad." Morgan pointed out

"They also requested a private plane, but no mention of a pilot." I said

"Guys, if you think about it, even the dates mean something. In 2004, while she was wreaking havoc abroad, he was dishonorably discharged. Then in 2008, they likely met in Chad. And now this in 2012." Spencer tells us

"Ok, so is it a coincidence that those are all election years and they attacked D. C.?" Morgan asked, "Maybe this is a political statement."

"No. It's more personal than that. It's their story." I said

"What?" Morgan asked me

"All of the details are a part of their story."

* * *

"Their timeline suggests they were both destructive before they met." Emily tells everyone

"So we're talking about ex-military turning on their country." Strauss said

"It's rare, but soldiers become disenfranchised no matter what the nationality. And if he met someone like-minded at that time, there'd be no stopping them." Emily explained

"So you're thinking they met during the civil unrest in Chad in '08." Aaron tells her

"Yeah, and one or both of them are pilots." I said

"So if Garcia concentrates on that region, specifically weapons running in and out of Libya, there's a good chance we'll find their paths crossed." Emily tells her

"Ok, multiple entries into Libya for a private pilot named Matthew Downs in '08, but I don't have her name."

"Well, because she had aliases. It's the only way to stay a ghost. Here's the thing- they are a couple. Regardless of what we believe of them, they will celebrate themselves and their connection. Is there anything that happened on this date in Chad?" Emily asked her

"Oh, you are good, Emily Prentiss. But this news is not. Yes, there were multiple explosions on this date in '08."

"Where were the most casualties?" Aaron asked

"At a church- no, no, a train."

"Semtex and C-4?" Morgan asked her

"Yep"

"Are trains still arriving at Union Station?" Aaron asked Strauss

"Yes, but only the authorities are allowed in."

"That's why they needed Will." I pointed out

* * *

I went and walked out of the command center with Aaron, Morgan, and Emily when I felt someone grab my arm.

"No." Spencer said to me and I looked from him to the others, luckily they were distracted and I looked at him.

"Spence I need to do this, I can't sit back and watch."

"I almost lost you once today, please don't make me feel that way again." He said and I still noticed the others were looking away.

"We made a promise that no matter what we would come back to each other, I will come back, we will move in together and I will continue to show you how much you mean to me, I love you." I told him and he closed his eyes and sighed.

"You better come back to me."

"Always" I told him and went to the others and got in the SUV

* * *

"He's gonna want to stay close to watch." Aaron tells us as we exited the SUV and headed into the train station. Aaron indicated to me and Emily to head off in one direction as him and Morgan went the other way, we find a set of stairs that are closed off for renovations and we headed up them.

 _"Hotch, I got the suspect going out the east wing."_ Morgan tells him over the radio

 _"Copy."_

when we reach the top and look around we find Will chained to a pole and we rush over to him, "We found Will." I tell them

 _"Is he mobile?"_ Aaron asked

"Negative. He's got 6 transmitters on him and this whole place is gonna blow." Emily tells him

 _"All right, where are you? I'm on my way."_

"No, you gotta get everyone out. Is the bomb squad here yet?" I asked him

 _"They're 3 minutes away."_

"Copy." I replied

"Elizabeth, Emily, you gotta get Henry. They're at the house." Will said to us

* * *

"Just get everybody out of here." Will said to us

"We're not gonna leave you. Just give me a minute." Emily told him

"Just about all you got."

"Ok, everything they did and said was about them." I mentioned

"Narcissists." Will says

"Romantics. They met in 2008." Emily said and typed 2008 into the key pad but it beeped, we had 2 tries left

"Oh, what are you doing? Seriously, you two, go. Go."

"Ok, hold on. Chad. 2-4-2-3." She entered and it was wrong again

"Oh!" Will groaned

"Damn it. Ok, these are valentines for her, so a 4-letter word. Love, life, soul." I listed off

"Izzy. Her name is Izzy." Will says

"I-z-z-y." She entered and it disabled it

"Oh!" I sigh but then another device pops open, "Oh, God!"

 _"Elizabeth, Prentiss, what's your status?"_ Aaron asked over the radio but Emily took her ear piece out, _"Elizabeth, Prentiss, do you copy?"_

"The storytelling's in the details. Those wires mean something." Emily points out

"Like what?" Will asked

"The colors of the flag of Chad. Red, yellow, and blue. Only one is different from the U. S. flag-yellow." Emily says

"What do you think?" Will asked and she cut the wire and it stopped

"Ohh!" We all sighed

"How did you do that?" Will asked her

"I didn't overthink it." she said and we laughed

* * *

I arrived back at the BAU with Emily, Aaron, and Morgan, I saw Spencer sitting at his desk and I jerked my head at him telling him to follow me. We went to a secluded hallway and he pulled me into a hug which I returned then he kissed me.

"Told you I would come back to you." I said to him and kissed him again.

"I love you crazy girl." He tells me with our foreheads resting against each others.

"I love you too."

"So I was thinking, your apartment is bigger then mine, it would fit a lot of our stuff in it." He tells me

"Are you saying you want to move in with me Dr. Reid?" I asked in a teasing voice

"I am."

"Okay then, my place it is." I tell him and kissed him one last time before we headed back to the bullpen and he sits down at his desk and I sit at mine.

"The convention's still happening tomorrow if you want to go." He tells Garcia

"That whole city on the brink of destruction thing kind of took the wind out of my sails, you know?"

"That'll do it every time." Emily tells her

"We didn't finish the inspection." Morgan mentions to Emily

"No need."

"What happened?" Spencer asked her and I walked over

"Um, there is a horizontal crack in the foundation. It just weakens the entire base that the house is sitting on."

"Yeah. That does not sound good." Garcia agrees and Strauss walked over

"So, our unsub is Izzy Rogers. She'll be charged with multiple counts domestically, and our international counterparts will have their turn with her. She will never see the light of day. I just thought you'd like to know that." She tells us and looks at Morgan, "Agent Morgan, a word?"

"Hang on, let me check." I heard Aaron say as he walked out of his office, "Oh, wait, she's here. Erin, don't go anywhere. Dave wants to know if everyone is free tomorrow night?"

"Well, it depends on if he's buying. Then I'm definitely in." Morgan said and I chuckled

"Yeah, me, too." Emily says, Spencer nods his head and Garcia gives a thumbs up

"I'm in." I said

"You hear that? We're in." Aaron told Rossi

* * *

After spending a good 20 minutes getting ready I walked out of the bedroom in my dress and Spencer turns and looks at me.

"Wow."

"I hope that's a good wow because I don't think we time for me to do another round." I said to him and he walks over to me.

"It's definitely a good wow, you look...amazing."

"Well thank you, you don't look half bad yourself." I tell him and straighten his tie a little, "Ready to go Dr. Reid?"

He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me deeply, "Why do you do that when you know I love it?" He asked

"Because I love you, and I love how much it affects you." I said with a smile and he kissed me again.

"Just wait until we get back tonight, I'll show you just how much I love it."

"I look forward to it." I said and we left.

* * *

I was standing by Beth, Emily, and Morgan talking with them when I looked over and saw Spencer showing Henry a magic trick, my heart swelled watching him, he loved that boy as much as I love Jack. Someday when we are ready nothing would make me happier then to marry Spencer and have kids with him, little geniuses like him. We all gathered by the flower isle in front of the archway where JJ and Will were about to be married, we saw JJ walking down with her mom looking beautiful as she walked over to Will and Henry bending down and giving Henry a kiss.

As they exchanged their vows I looked at Spencer and he looked at me, I smiled at him, "I love you." I mouthed to him

"I love you more" He mouthed back and I shook my head and looked back at JJ and Will

* * *

As we sat around the table Rossi clinked his fork against his glass and stood up, "They say that good things happen to good people. Today is one of those days, and these are two of those people. We love you."

"Cheers." We all said and raised our glasses

* * *

We all were on the dance floor, we all danced with each other, Aaron danced with Beth, Garcia danced with Morgan, JJ with Will, I danced with Spencer when Aaron cut in and we danced together and I see Spencer dance with Emily then Morgan cut in with them and Spencer walked away blowing kisses to Emily, I danced with Morgan after that and Aaron danced with Emily, at one point me, JJ, Emily and Garcia all danced together.

After an eventful night me and Spencer headed back to my place, I took off my heals and Spencer pulled me into his arms and kissed me.

"Let's get to bed." He told me and I nodded my head taking his hand and he walked us to the bedroom.


	23. Chapter 23

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **A/N: Okay I've been dreading writing this episode because it's going to really test me as a writer. This is my own twist on ZugZwang, Maeve is not going to be in here at all this is about Spencer and Elizabeth. Please go easy on me but also please give your opinion, this is not willy wonka and the choclate factory so you don't have to sugar coat anything. Anyways, put on your life vests and lets dive right in.**

I unlocked the door to mine and Spencer's apartment and saw him asleep on the couch, I set the grocery bags down and walked over to him. I knelt down and smiled at him, he's so peacfull when he sleeps, I leaned forward and lightly ran my lips along his, he twitched then opened his eyes and looked at me.

"You fell asleep on the couch again." I told him and he smiled then grabbed my hands and lifted me onto the couch next to him and we laid like that.

"Sorry, I just get so relaxed on this couch while reading it's hard not to fall asleep."

"Maybe we should get rid of the couch then." I teased

"Don't you dare." He told me and lightly tickled my ribs.

"Hey! You know I hate that."

"I know, but I also like watching you squirm when I do it." He said again and started to tickle me again.

"Spence stop it." I said in between giggles

"Promise you won't get rid of the couch."

"Okay! Okay! I promise!" I said and he stops then kisses me, "Why are you so attached to this couch anyways?"

"Because we sat here when we told each other how we feel."

"Oh that's right, it's also the same time we kissed for the first time." I told him and he kissed my forehead.

"A few other things happened on this couch that we won't point out." He says and I smack him on the arm.

"Hey now, most of the time it was your fault, all I did was sit here all innocent reading my book and you come over and take it away and started kissing me."

"You sat here on the couch in nothing but a t-shirt, my t-shirt might I add." He pointed out and I giggled.

"I had shorts on too."

"You instigated it, but either way, I love you." He says and I kiss him

"I love you too, now if you don't mind I have groceries sitting by the door that need to be put away." I tell him but he doesn't move.

"Wanna go out for dinner tonight?"

"Are you asking me on a date Dr. Reid?" I asked him

"Yes I am"

"It's a date." I said and he let me get up

* * *

Spencer and I decided that we were just going to meet at the restaurant, I had to stop by JJ's quick to drop off the dress I was borrowing her for her date with Will tonight, as I was driving down the road my phone rang.

"Hello?"

 _"Hey it's me,"_ Garcia said, _"What are you up to tonight? JJ and Will have a date, Blake is spending sometime with her husband and I could us a gal pal tonight."_

"Oh Garcia I would love to but I have plans, a friend of mine is in town and I haven't seen her since college." I lied to her, I hated lying to Garcia but we still wanted to wait until we told people, although Spencer told me Morgan was getting a little suspicious.

 _"Oooh boo!"_ She said and I chuckled.

"Maybe tomorrow night hun." I tell her and I see flashing lights up ahead, "Hey Garcia I'm gonna call you back it looks like someone is having car troubles."

 _"Well don't help them, I know that sounds cruel but that's how all the bad things in horror movies happen."_

"Garcia I'll be fine, if anything goes wrong I have my gun." I told her and started to pull next to the car.

 _"Okay but don't say I didn't warn you."_ She said and hung up, I rolled down my passenger window and the person looked at me.

"Hey, need any help?" I asked her

"Yeah, I pulled over for just a moment to make a phone call and when I turned the key it wouldn't start."

"Okay, let me swing around I'll give you a jump." I told her and pulled forward pulling a U turn then stopped in front of the car. I got out, grabbed my cables and walked to the hood of her car then hooked them up.

"It should only take a few minutes to get it going." I told her

"Thank you so much your a life saver."

"You're welcome." I said and looked towards the car, as I stood there I noticed that the battery wasn't the issue, the spark plugs were missing, I turned my head to face her and the next thing I knew I felt a sharp pain in my neck and I blacked out.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I stood at the entrance of the restaurant waiting for Liz, I don't know what was taking her so long, she probably got caught up talking to JJ, as I was lost in thought I hear a pay phone ring a few steps away from me and I look at it, no one walked over to answer it, I walked over to it and picked the receiver up.

"Hello?" I answered

"Hello. I have a collect call from...Adam Worth...Do you accept the charges?"

"Yes."

"Please deposit $2.00 for the first two minutes. Thank you." The operator said and I scrambled into my pocket and grabbed out my change dispensing it into the phone

"Hello. I'm still here." I said

"Zug...zwang." A computerized voice said

"I'm sorry, can you please repeat that?"

"Zug... Zwang." it said and there was a dial tone.

* * *

"I got here as quickly as I could. What's wrong?" Hotch said to me as he walked up the steps into his office

"I need to tell you something."

* * *

"Why haven't either of you told me this?" Hotch asked me, I told him about Liz and I

"We just figured it would be best if nobody knew for a while, until we were ready."

"You've been dating for a year, how did manage to keep it a secret?" He asked me

"It wasn't easy, but Hotch that's not the reason I'm here." I tell him and he looks at me confused, "The real reason I'm here is because I think somethings happened to her, we were suppose to meet up tonight for dinner, she had to stop by JJ's then she was going to meet me there, but she never showed and it's not like her to not show up, I tired calling her phone but it goes to voicemail."

"Elizabeth is missing?"

"The voice on the phone identified himself as Adam Worth. That was the American criminal that Arthur Conan Doyle based the character of Moriarty on." I told him

"And what did he say to you?" He asked me

"Zugzwang. It's a chess term. It describes the point in a game when a player realizes he'll inevitably be checkmated. He has to decide whether to resign or to play through to the bitter end."

"If you're right about this, then you're part of his victimology, too." He said to me

"I know."

* * *

"He thinks he'll get away with this, and he might. I have a wealth of knowledge I should be applying to this case. Behavioral patterns of violent stalkers. Tactical recovery strategies. Victim survival odds. But right now I can't focus on anything more than 4 seconds at a time. Which makes me the dumbest person in the room." I tell then others as I tell them as well about me and Liz, aside from JJ because she already knew, "So... Please help me." I said to them fighting back tears, "Help me find her." I said and JJ gets up and hugs me.

"We don't know if we have a case. So we'll be working on personal time. Does anybody want to leave?" Hotch asked them but no one moved, "Good. Let's go save her." Hotch tells us

* * *

 _"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."_ Lao Tsu.

"Garcia did you find anything on Elizabeth's phone?" Hotch asked her over the phone

"I was able to pin point her cell phone signal on Delaware Dr."

"That's just past her apartment." Hotch points out

"It's also the road you take to get to our house." JJ adds

"Elizabeth told me she saw someone broken down on the side of the road and was going to help them." Garcia mentions then there was a pause, "Sirr it looks like the signal is just staying there."

"She always leaves her phone in her purse on the passenger side of the car to avoid distractions." I tell them and we turn down Delaware Dr, looking ahead we see Elizabeth's SUV sitting there with the hood up, Hotch stops and we all get our and walk over, and see there are jumper cables hanging from her battery. Morgan and JJ walk on both sides of the SUV with their guns raised, me and Hotch looked on the ground for anything that could help us. Just then I notice something underneath the vehicle and I reach down and grab it with a glove.

"What do you got?" Hotch asked me

* * *

"Cyclobenzaprine." I tell them holding the syringe up in a bag, "It's a muscle relaxant known for it sedating properties."

"The unsub must of had the opportunity to dose Elizabeth with this, Elizabeth is a strong fighter so she must have been taken by surprise." Morgan says

"The unsub also must have known she was going down that road." JJ added

"But the question is how? Reid has Elizabeth mentioned anything about anyone following her?" Hotch asked me

"No, not at all." I answered and fiddled with the watch on my pocket.

"Okay, JJ, Rossi and Morgan you go to Elizabeth's apartment and see if the unsub happened to stop there at all, Reid you me and Blake will head over to your place to see if they left any clues for you there." Hotch says and I clear my throat, "What?"

"Well um...we sort of live together now." I told him and everyone looked at me.

"For how long?" Hotch asked.

"A few days after JJ's wedding we moved my stuff over to her place, so 5 months now."

"How did you guys manage to hide this for so long?" Blake asked me

"By being careful and not letting it affect the team, that's why we never told anyone, except JJ and Emily."

"Emily knew?" Morgan asked and I nodded my head.

"Okay we can all head over there then, we need to find out what we can in order to find her." Hotch says and we get up to leave, "Reid" he said and I turned to face him, "You know you two could have told me. I told Elizabeth a few years ago after what happened in New York that if it didn't effect the team I would have no problem with the two of you being together."

"I know, she told me." I said to him

"If it makes you feel any better I'm glad it's you she's with." He said and I gave a sad smile.

"Thank you."

"Sir, I just got a video sent to me." Garcia tells us walking into the room and set her laptop down, we go around the table and look at the screen and my heart nearly stopped as I see Liz tied to a chair with her head down. Just then a pair of hands appear in front of the screen holding up a piece of paper that read.

 _Catch me if you can_

Then the video turned off, "Have you tracked it?" Hotch asked her

"I had to go through several networks and I'm sorry I came up empty on location but I did get a name."

* * *

"Robert Putnam. FBI." Morgan says after he knocked on the door and it opened revealing a woman standing ther

"Who?"

"We're looking for Robert Putnam. Do you know where he is?" Rossi asked her

"He's in the back."

"We need to talk to him." Aaron tells her and she lets us in

"And who are you?" Morgan asked

"I'm Diane, his girlfriend."

"Hey, sweetheart, who is it?" We hear someone say and I turned around

"Robert Putnam, we'd like to-" I started to say but as soon as I saw him I flashed back to the restaurant I was waiting for Elizabeth at

"I know you." Robert said to me and Hotch faced me

"Out. Out." He said pushing me out the door

"Wait, I need to talk to him, Hotch."

"Why did he just recognize you?" He asked me

"He was at the restaurant when I was waiting for Liz, I caught him looking at me and something felt off about him." I told him

"And you're telling me this now?"

"I didn't know who he was and then a friend of his sat down, so I just assumed that I overreacted." I said

"Reid, if he's the unsub, you're a material witness. You can't be in there. You know that. Stay here." He says and heads back into the apartment

 **Aaron POV...**

"What's going on?" Robert asked me and Dave

"We were hoping you could tell us." Dave told him

"I'm not really sure to be honest with you."

"We're here because one of our agents is missing and we were sent a video of her tied to a chair, the IP address showed up under your name." I tell him

"What? That's impossible."

"You're saying you had nothing to do with this?" Dave asked him

"No!"

"Do you have any idea why someone would send a video of our agent using your IP address?" I asked

"There's something on that table I'm gonna go get. Don't shoot me." He says and stands up walking over to the table and handed us an envelope. I open it and show Dave, it's pictures of Robert taken from a distance.

"I was sent these about a week ago, I was being stalked."

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I paced back and forth outside the apartment complex thinking, thinking of Liz, if she was okay, wanting to hold her again, I thought back to a couple days ago when we got caught in the rain and made our way back to our place.

 _"Oh my god I'm so cold." Elizabeth said rushing into the apartment and I shut the door, she walked over to her fire place lighting a match and started a fire._

 _"It's your fault you know." I said to her and she looked at me_

 _"What do you mean?_

 _"You just had to have us take the longer way home." I said and she bit her lip, she knows that drives me crazy._

 _"Sorry, how was I suppose to know it was going to rain?"_

 _"The weather man said there was a 50 percent chance of heavy rain expect-" I started to say but I was cut off when I felt a pillow hit my face, I looked and saw Liz grinning at me, "What was that for?"_

 _"Felt like it." She said and walked into the bedroom and followed her, "I'm stealing a shirt." She tells me looking through my t-shirts in my drawer._

 _"You have clothes to you know." I said walking up behind her_

 _"True, but they don't smell like you." She tells me, "Now once we change how about some tea and a movie?" She asked_

 _"Sure." I tell her and grabbed a shirt out as well_

 _"Ugh why can't I get warm?" I hear her ask, I turned to see her shirt was off_

 _"I can think of a way." I told her, walked over to her and scooped her up bringing her over to the bed_

 _"Spencer!" she squealed as we reached the bed._

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard someone say my name, "Excuse me, Doctor." I turned and saw Diane standing there, "Agent Hotchner said he was done with me upstairs. Can you tell me what's going on?" She asked and Morgan came up behind her

"We'll be in touch, ma'am. Thank you." He told her and she walked away, "All right, kid, talk to me."

"I can't lose her Morgan, I love her." I tell him and he puts a hand on my shoulder

"She's going to be okay Reid."

"We made a promise to each other, that we would always come back to each other no matter what." I told him

"Then you have to believe that, not just for you but for her."

* * *

Me and Hotch arrived at mine and Liz's apartment and headed inside, the place was partly filled with all my books and stuff but we made sure that it was still her place too, she bought me a book shelf that covered an entire wall so that my books could sit on them.

"Okay, if the unsub took Elizabeth then odds are he knew where she lived, where you both lived" Hotch says to me as we look around the apartment for anything out of place. I walked over to another bookshelf that had pictures of the team, Jack, Aaron, and us.

"Reid I know this is a difficult time for you, it is for me too, and if I know you, you're thinking of ways that this is your fault, but it's not. None of us could have possibly known that this unsub knew where she was going to be.." Hotch tells me and I look at him.

"I know I should believe you but I just.." I said and looked back at the shelf, "I just can't help but think it's tied to me somehow and I-" I stopped and looked at one of Liz's picture frames and grabbed it off the shelf.

"What is it?" Hotch asked me coming over.

"This isn't the picture that was in here." I said and opened up the frame and took it out, "It was a picture of me and Liz at JJ's wedding, JJ took it for us at the reception." I said and we looked at the picture, it was me and Liz walking down the street of our apartment holding hands, that's wasn't the only scary part, Liz's face was scribbled out.

* * *

"It's not about the message. It's about the medium, what he used to draw on her face." JJ tells me as we look at the picture, "Spence... It's black eyeliner."

"The stalker's a woman."

"That's why she masked her voice on the phone, that's probably why Elizabeth stopped to help her because a man would have been able to take her on." JJ pointed out

"Hotch, did you ever identify me to Bobby Putnam's girlfriend?" I asked him

"What?"

"Did you say my name to her? Did you call me Dr. Reid or Agent Reid?" I asked

"I never mentioned you at all. Why?" He asked me

"I think I know who the unsub is."

* * *

"What have we got?" Hotch asked me and Morgan walking over to us

"Well, she knew we were close, so she came back Robert.

"Looks like they had a normal conversation, then she got violent." I told him and Morgan's phone rang

"Hey, doll face, what do you got?" Morgan asked Garcia

 _"An identity that's pure vapor. Diane Huntington is a fake name. So is her address. And all the phone conversations she had with Bobby were from a burner phone."_

"All right, keep digging and keep us posted." Hotch tells her and Morgan hangs up. "We need to rethink the profile, reset everything that we know about Elizabeth through the prism of one woman stalking another."

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I sat there as the woman who kidnapped me brought in a guy who I didn't know, he regained consciousness and looked around the room before looking at me.

"Are you okay?" I asked him

"What's going on?" He asked me, "Where are we?"

"I don't know, what's your name?"

"Robert Putnam." The girl who took me said walking into the room, "Bobby, say hello to Agent Elizabeth Hotchner."

* * *

"Let's just say she took something from me that I can't get back. So I decided if I can't have my life, I'm gonna take hers."

"What are you talking about?" Robert asked her

"After hunting her for 10 months, I had to stop and say, what I so freakin' special about her? I couldn't see it. Until I saw him." She said walking around me, she wasn't talking about Robert, no because if she was he wouldn't be here.

"Him who?"

"I followed you to the restaurant last night. And I saw him. I want what they have."she said and brushed the barrel of her gun against my temple, "I want him."

"That's why you're doing this? Because of that stupid FBI agent?" Robert asked her and I glared at him

"That stupid FBI agent is he reason why you're still alive. You're gonna get her to tell me about him."

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Ok, we know numbers on female stalkers are minimal. Only 10% of all cases are female." JJ points out

"All right, what tops the list of motivators?" Hotch asked

"Prior sexual intimacy." Morgan says

"Erotomania?" Rossi asked

"No. Go the other direction. Think female scorned." Morgan told him, "We slept together. You broke up with me. Now I'll do anything to get back with you."

"But that doesn't explain why she went after Elizabeth or Robert, neither of them know each other." Blake mentioned

"And what's the second-most common motivation?" I asked

"Celebrity stalking." JJ said to me

"That fits better."

'Well, how? She's not famous." Blake tells me

"Elizabeth is a star here, though."

"That's a stretch. Celebrity stalkers are usually nonviolent." Rossi says

"You want to tell that to John Lennon, Rossi? What was it that Mark David Chapman said after he shot him? "It was like all of my nobody-ness and all of his somebody-ness collided." Well, Elizabeth is somebody and this bitch is a nobody." I said with anger and they all looked at me, "I'm sorry. I don't know where that came from. Um, I can't be very helpful right now. I should leave."

"Reid. Reid, yes, you can. You and Elizabeth have 5 years of history and your brain lets you recall everything verbatim." Morgan told me

"There's too much of it and I can't sort through it with any clarity."

"Then pick one of us and we'll go through it with you." Hotch told me and I looked between them all

"Blake."

"Okay. Let's get out of here." She said

* * *

"You want to talk here?" I asked her as we sat down at a table in the park that had a chess board

"Yep."

"You play?" I asked

"Yeah, I know my way around a board, but... That's not the point. I want you to focus here and not on my questions. So, let's try this out. When you think of Elizabeth, what's the first thing that comes to mind?"

"Edgar Allan Poe." I told her moving a chess piece

"What about him?"

"He's her favorite author," I said and quickly reached into my pocket and pulled out the watch and showed it to Blake

"Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore."

"When I was poisoned by anthrax I woke up in the hospital and saw her reading The Raven, I said that to her and she looked at me with her..beautiful captivating eyes and smiled, and when we were in Alaska on a case I asked her what her favorite Edgar Allan Poe quote was and she quoted that one." I tell her

"You must really love her."

"I would die for her." I said and moved another piece.

* * *

"So if you two have this deep connection where the both of you would do anything to protect the other, why do you think the unsub would attack Robert first?" Blake asked me

"I don't know, access, maybe."

"No, something links the two of you in the unsub's mind." She says

"She wants to destroy someone Elizabeth has a romantic relationship with?" I asked her

"It could be jealousy or revenge. Maybe Elizabeth got in the way of one of her old relationships?"

"It's just not who Elizabeth is."

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"You see, a girl like you could have anyone she wanted." the girl told me, "But instead you capture the heart of someone so far out of your league. I mean take Robert here for example, nice, muscular guy, then there's him, smart, nerdy type that guys like Robert would beat up in school." She said and I gritted my teeth, she is really lucky my hands aren't free right now.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Did you guys ever compare lists? The different people you dated?"

"June 18th 10pm. I asked her if she dated a lot growing up. She said she had a couple of relationships but nothing was serious, then she asked me about my history. I was 12. It was kind of confusing. Once I got a note from this girl I had a crush on. She thought I was cute but would only meet me if I wore a blindfold. I did. And she took my shirt off. That's when I heard the laughter. Most of the senior class was in there." I told her

"Oh, it sounds awful."

"Elizabeth thought so, too. She said that if would have gone to the same school she would have made them sorry they did that." I said with a smile

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"You have him eating out of the palm of your hand every day." She says and walks over by Robert and looks at me, "How'd you do it?" She asked me but I stayed quiet. "Hello! Agent, are you in there?" She asked and I still remained quiet. "Seriously? Okay, fine." She says and fires a round in between me and Robert and I flinched, I never usually do when a gun fires but the situation was different now, Spencer didn't know where I was, "There was a moment when you had him and you knew you had him. What was it?"

"Euclidean geometry. There's this thing called the Penrose triangle. He told me a story about how he tried to build one when he was 8." I started to tell her reliving the memory, it was years ago back when I had first met Spence.

"This better get sexy quick. I'm getting bored."

"You can't build it. It's an impossible physical structure. It only exists in conceptual geometry. But I said, every Penrose triangle has its thorns. And he laughed. It was a stupid pun, but he laughed." I told her

"That's it."

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"She once spoke about the awkwardness of being on a team full of men and 2 other woman, especially when Hotch is her brother." I said and thought of something, "What if the unsub worked there but wasn't an agent? What if she was a grad student maybe working on her internship there?" I asked

"Yeah, but how could Elizabeth miss her?" Blake asked me

"Each agent gets the opportunity to mentor an intern from the university. We get sent essay's and thesis's to look over and pick one that we like," I point out

""And if Elizabeth rejected her thesis, the unsub would take it personally."

"And that rejection has become an obsession to possess." I said

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"I want to see what he sees. He sees you as his equal. That's it, isn't it? I just-I have to let him see that I'm on your level." The girl told me

"Great. You figured it out. Now, please, will you let us go?" Robert asked

"No. No. I have to show her that I can take everything that she has. Then she's going to remember me. You, however, are superfluous." She tells him, 'I'm sorry, Bobby. You've always been the runner-up in this pageant." She says and points the gun at him

"Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Please. Please..."

"Don't hurt him!" I yelled at her

"Please!" He pleaded but she puled the trigger and I watched someone innocent get killed in front of me and again I couldn't do anything about it, I couldn't stop the tears that fell from my eyes.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Her name is Diane Turner. She worked as a research assistant at Mendel University." Garcia tells us showing a picture of the girl that has taken my girl.

"Did she apply for an internship at the BAU?"

"Yeah. She was one of a bunch of internal applicants that got rejected."

"Looks like Elizabeth was the one that reviewed her application and denied it." Rossi points out

"Correct. She now works at a local junior college." Garcia says

"Dave, you, Reid, and JJ take the residence. Blake and Morgan, take the campus." Hotch tells us

"What was her thesis about?" I asked

"It says here, "Spontaneous cellular death in suicide patients." Morgan told me

"There's her suicidal ideation again." Blake said

"Except cells don't behave that way. Why is she so obsessed with it?" I asked

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"You still don't remember who I am, do you?" The girl asked sitting on a table in the room

"No. I've tried and tried to remember and I can't. But whatever it is I did to you, I'm sorry. Forgive me. Tell me what it is you want me to say to you and I will say it. I just want this to be over." I told her, i was to tired to try and fight this anymore

"I can do that. You just have to do something for me first." She said and ccut my bindings

* * *

"Get up there." She told me leading me a ledge on the roof

"Why?"

"Do it." She says

"Why don't you just kill me?" I asked her

"I want to see if you'll jump. It's my theory that when you make a decision to give up that the cells in your body start to die." She says and it hits me, but I comply with her request and climb onto the ledge, I've never been one for heights, my whole body was shaking as I kept balance, "Can you feel it? Your whole body beginning to decay. It makes it easier to want to kill yourself. Go. Go ahead, prove my theory."

"I remember you."

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Clear!"

"Clear."

The tactical force members cleared Diane's apartment and we walked in and noticed the pictures on the wall

"Is this a shrine to her dead parents?" JJ asked

"Her parents committed suicide. That explains her obsession." I said

"Guys. She's watching us." Rossi tells us pointing to a camera on the ceiling

"Garcia."

 _"What you got, mama grizzly?"_ Garcia asked JJ

"There's a web cam in here. Can you hack the feed?"

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"I read your thesis, didn't I?" I asked her

"You turned me down because you couldn't handle the competition."

"No. I turned you down because your testing was flawed." I asid to her

"It was not flawed!" She yells and yanked me off the roof and I fell onto the ground

"Your sample was biased. You included your parents."

"The science was sound. You didn't even read the whole thing, did you?" She asked me pointing the gun at me

"No, I did. I did. I did read it, and do you know what I thought after I was finished? I thought, whoever wrote this had suffered a tragedy. And I felt sorry for your loss. But you don't join the BAU just because something bad happened to you, you join to save lives, help other people." I told her

"No. You just couldn't see. You can't see that I'm a genius!"

"Genius? Do you know what genius is?" I asked her

"I know that I am one."

"Maybe." I said standing up, "Maybe you do have that gift. Maybe your theory could have had merit. But we don't know. Because genius isn't just one good idea or one successful experiment, Diane. Genius is work. Thousands of hours of work, and the man that you are trying to get to through me, he is a genius and he will find me." I told her

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

JJ was on the phone with Garcia and I grabbed a notebook and a marker and started writing, "What are you doing?" Rossi asked me

"I'm making a deal."

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV..**

"That's why you didn't make it. You didn't do the work. But you could. Yeah, you could do the work. I'll help you." I pleaded with her

"Get on the ledge. Now!"

"No. If you're gonna kill me, you kill me. But I am not jumping. Because I want to live long enough to see Spencer arrest you." I told her and she cocks her gun but then there's a beeping

"Spencer has a different idea." She said and showed me the phone, it was a video footage and Spencer was standing there holding up a notebook that read _Me for Her_

"No Spence."

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

The phone rings in the apartment and I answer it

"Hello."

 _"It's me."_ I hear Liz say on the other end

"Are you okay?" I asked her

 _"She killed someone, a guy named Robert, right in front of me."_ She says

"Are _you_ okay?"

 _"Yeah. I've got bruising and my neck hurts, but I'm okay."_ She said, but I could hear in her voice she was lying

"Can I talk to her?" I asked her

 _"No. She's listening."_

Good. I want to meet her. I need to see her face to face." I said

 _"She has a message she wants me to give you."_ Liz tells me

"What is it?"

 _"The message is, she left you a present. And if you want to find it, it's easy as pie."_ LIz says

"What does that mean? I don't understand what that means."

 _"Neither do I. Spencer, I love you but it's a trap. If you come here, she's gonna kill you!"_ Liz says and the line disconnects

"I need a map of D.C"

* * *

"This is Diane Turner's apartment." I tell the others pointing at the map, "This is the nearest cell tower her phone call to me pinged off of, which means this is the circle that Elizabeth was telling me about." I said drawing a circle

"What circle?" Hotch asked me

"It was a clue in Diane's message. Finding her would be as easy as pie. Only she wasn't referring to the food, she was referring to..." I tell him and write 3.1416

"Pi." Garcia said turning to her computer

"Why would Diane give you a clue?" Hotch asked me

"Elizabeth made a similar pun once. Now Diane wants me to see her the same way, but brilliant, the smartest girl in the room."

"All right, assuming that Diane has a secondary location, where in the circle would she hold Elizabeth?" Hotch asked

"She'd need a building that would allow for privacy and control, a closed garage for prisoner transfer..."

"If she's copying Elizabeth's life, it might be someplace close to Elizabeth's apartment." Hotch points out

"There's nothing in Diane's name." Garcia tells us

"What about Bobby's?" Hotch asked her, "Maybe she forged his signature."

"Nope."

"What about Diane's parents?" I asked her

"Yes. Yes. Diane rented a loft in the building across from Elizabeth's in her parents name."

"Reid." Hotch says and we walk away from Garcia, "I can't let you be a part of this take down."

"We don't have a choice. If I don't go in there, Elizabeth is dead."

"And if you do, you're dead." He tells me

"Hotch, we've known from the beginning she's on a murder-suicide mission, but we never stopped to ask why she's on that mission. We know now that it's because she wants recognition, the type of recognition she thinks Elizabeth gets, and I can give her that."

"How?" He asked

"I'm gonna tell her I love her."

* * *

We arrive out side the loft and approach the building, "Hold on I got a box on the steps." Hotch tells us and I put my gun in its holster.

"That's the gift." I said opening the gate and picked up the box and opened it.

"What is that, a blindfold?" Morgan asked

 _"Take your gun and vest off."_ Diane's voice came over the intercom, I removed my vest and took my gun off, _"Now come in alone."_

"Reid." Hotch says to me and I hand him my gun, we exchanged a look and I knew what it meant, he wanted both of us out there safe, but if all else fails I will make sure Liz gets out of there alive

I make my way into the building and get halfway up the steps when Diane comes out from around the corner and cocks her gun, "Put it on." She tells me and I do so

"Can I take the blindfold off?" I asked her as she walks me into I'm guessing another room, and I hear a muffled shouting

"No." She tells me and sits me down, "I was hoping you'd figure out my riddle. I mean, I knew you would." She says and slides her hand down the inside of my shirt, "The fun was just how fast you'd do it. All this and brains, too, your a lucky girl." I hear her say to Liz.

"It took me a long time. To be honest, I was distracted by your thesis." I tell her and she takes her hand away and walks around me.

"You read my thesis?"

"I did. You know, I think your writing puts you on the same plane as Jonas Salk. I've already sent it to the NIH." I said to her

"Flattery is not gonna get you out of this. I know what's waiting for me outside."

"I've arranged for your freedom." I told her

"The federal government doesn't make deals with people like me." She tells me

"Not true. Nazi scientists were recruited for the Manhattan Project. Mafia bosses are regularly put into Witness Protection. If what you have is valuable enough, the federal government will work with you. And what you have is very valuable."

"And what do I have, Doctor?" She asked me

"You have a brain that doesn't play by normal societal rules. And I know that all your life the people you care about the most keep leaving. There's a part of you that thinks it's because of that brain. Well, I'm here because I'm not going to leave you. I'm here because... I just hope that I get the chance."

"Chance at what?" She asked

"To be with you." I told her, the words were like poison on my lips, all I want, all I've ever wanted was Liz, "Me for her. That was the deal, right?"

"You're choosing me over her?" She asked me

"Diane, how could it be anyone else?"

"Prove it." She tells me

"All right. How?"

"Say it again. This time say it to her face." She says and removes my blindfold, I see Liz look at me, her mouth is gagged with a cloth, "I want to hear her reaction when you tell her." She says and removes the gag from Liz's mouth

"I don't love you. Sorry." I told Liz, I didn't mean, she knows I don't mean it and I hate saying it but she understands what I'm doing, it's what we always do.

"I understand." Liz says to me, I want to hold her so much right now

"I don't need her anymore." Diane says and walks over to Liz and points the gun at her head

"Kill her and she won't have to live with the fact that you're smarter. Let her live with her irrelevancy." I tell her and Diane looks at me then grabs something off the table and cuts one of Liz's binds

"I just want her to see one more thing." Diane says and walks over to me, bends down and kisses me, it disgusts me, Liz is who's lips belong there

"Liar." Diane says pulling away, "Liar!" She yells and points the gun at me but I grab her hands and push the gun upwards and it fires

I still struggle with the gun and I see Liz trying to undo the other bind and the gun fires again and a bullet hits me in the shoulder.

"Spence!" Liz yells and the door opens and the others walk in with guns drawn, "Stay back! Stay back! Stay back! Stay back, stay back!" I tell them and stand up, Diane has Liz standing with her arm around her neck and the gun pointed at her, "Diane, Diane, there's still a way out of this." I tell her

"You never wanted me. Never! You lied!"

"I didn't. Diane, I offered you a deal and you can still take it. Me for her. Let me take her place." I tell her and Liz looks at me and shakes her head eyes ful of tears

"You would do that?" Diane asked

"Yes."

"You would kill yourself for her?" She asked me and I nodded my head looking at Liz, "Why?"

"Because she's the only one I've ever loved in my life." I tell her and I look at Liz who gives me a sad smile

"Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore." Liz said looking at me

"What? What is that?" Diane asked

"He's knows" She said and I looked at her hands, she was giving me a signal and I saw her eyes shift to Hotch and her hand twitched. Before I knew it Liz elbows Diane in the stomach and ran forward and she went to Hotch.

"You tricked me!" Diane shouted and pointed the gun at Liz but Morgan fired his first killing her. I heard Liz sob into Hotch's chest, I wanted to hold her but I just stared at Diane's body.

* * *

 **Elizabeth's POV...**

I sat in Aaron's apartment on the couch just staring at nothing, it killed me inside that I pushed away from Spencer, I loved him more then anything but I just needed my brother, I was broken out of my thoughts when Aaron sat down next to me and grabbed my hand.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked and I looked at him

"I need to do this Aaron, for my sanity." I told him

"Where are you gonna go?"

"Sean said I can stay with him for however long I need." I said and he took his hand away and wrapped his arm around me.

"How long will you be gone?" He asked me

"I don't know."

"What about Reid?" He asked

I sighed and leaned back up and looked at him, "I left him a letter, I know apart of him will understand. I just...I need to do this." I tell him and he nods

"I'll miss you."

"I'm gonna call and check up." I tell him and stand up grabbing my bags and headed to the door, "Tell Jack I love him." I said and he nodded, I opened the door and walked out.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I hadn't seen Liz in 2 days, she stayed at Hotch's place, I know she's hurting and scared, but I just want to hold her and kiss her and tell her everything is okay.

I get to the apartment and unlocked the door, I stepped inside but something was different, I looked around and noticed a few things have been moved around, I went into the bedroom and saw the closet door was opened. Looking inside I saw most of Liz's things were gone, my heart stopped and I noticed her luggage was gone too.

I made my way out of the bedroom and when I was walking past the kitchen I saw something sitting on the counter, _Spencer_

I picked it up and opened it sitting down on the couch,

 _Spencer, my Spencer,_

 _I want you to know how much it kills me to do this, by the time you'll be reading this I'll be gone. And no, before you blame yourself it's not your fault, it's me. That sounds like a really cheesy break up line, but I'm not breaking up with you, far from it. I'm just..taking some time away, I need to clear my head and I know that if i would have talked to you about this in person I wouldn't leave, I would want you to hold me and kiss me and make me feel better like you always do. I love you so much Spencer and I will come back, but for right now I just need to do this. And please don't try to have Garcia find me, just know that my heart is always with you, keep it safe for me and I'll keep yours safe._

 _Forever yours,_

 _Liz_

Tears fell from my eyes as I finished reading the letter, I put my hands down and looked up, she was gone, I understand why she left, but it hurt so bad knowing I wasn't going to see her everyday, hold her, look at that beautiful smile, and kiss her lips. I will give her the time she needs, but she's right about one thing, she will always have my heart.


	24. Chapter 24

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Sean!"

"What?" My younger brother called from the other room of his apartment

"Have you seen my black sweater?" I asked him walking into the room he was in

"No"

"I thought you did laundry?" I asked him

"And I thought you went grocery shopping."

"I did, just because I bought food you actually had to cook and not microwave doesn't mean I didn't get anything." I told him and he shook his head and finished getting dressed for work

"Where are you going anyways?" He asked me as I find my sweater on the couch

"Just for a walk around the city."

"You've been walking around the city for 3 months now, don't you think you've seen everything?" He asked and I looked at him, it has been 3 months since I've been here. Not a day goes by where I don't miss everyone, especially Spencer

"It helps me keep my head clear" I told him and he put his hands on my shoulders

"How much more clear can it get, you've been walking around for 3 months, been calling Aaron to talk and to talk to Jack, and you've tried calling...him but keep hanging up. Admit it, you want to go home."

"Are you trying to kick me out?" I joked and he lightly pushes me.

"Of course not, I'm just worried about is all." He says and I hug him

"I know, I will go back at some point, just...not now." I said and he kissed the top of my head.

"Ok, I gotta go to work, as I always tell you please be careful, you may have a gun but there are still crazy people around here."

"I know I'm related to one" I told him and he stopped walking towards the door and faced me

"At least I don't like Edgar Allan Poe." He says

"Well maybe you would if you actually picked up a book."

"Whatever troublebeth" He said and quickly left the apartment

"Jerk" I mumbled, grabbed my purse and left.

* * *

 **Aaron POV...**

I was laying in bed with Beth talking when my phone rang, "Did you forget to tell Dave that you were on vacation?" She asked me and I saw the name on the screen

"It's Sean."

"Your brother Sean?" She asked

 _"Aaron, uh, thank God. Uh..."_

"Is Elizabeth okay?" I asked him, she had been away for 3 months and i got a phone call every now and then but I was still worried about her

 _"She-she's fine. Uh...I got mixed up in something. I need your help."_

"What happened?" I asked

"This girl, she died right in my arms. Look, I need to see you."

"Sean, if you're a witness to something, you need to stay put. I'm in Manhattan. I'll come to you." I tell him

"What, you're here? Since when?" He asked me

"Where are you?"

"Club called the Edinburgh. 8th and 54th." He tells me

"All right, I'm on my way. I'll text you when I'm close." I told him and hung up

"That sounded serious." Beth tells me

"Yeah, with Sean it usually is."

"What's going on?" She asked

"I don't know. I'll keep you posted. Will you keep an eye on Jack?" I asked her

"Of course."

I sighed shaking my head, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. He's your brother." She tells me

"Yeah. That's why I'm worried."

* * *

I pulled up to the club in cab and got out, I saw Sean standing there with a cigarette in his mouth, "I didn't think you could still smoke in New York." I said walking up to him

"You're not even gonna warm up to the big brother act?" He asked me

"I figured it'd save us time."

"How long you been in the city?" He asked

"Jack and I got here today." I tell him

"Jack. Wow. I haven't seen him since he was..."

"3." I said

"Right. And now he's, uh..."

"7. So this is where you work now? What happened to the restaurant?" I asked him looking at the bar

"That was a long time ago. I'm a bartender now."

"Where's Elizabeth?" I asked

"She went for a walk around the city like she's done for the past 3 months. I called her though she's gonna meet us at the station." He tells me

"What happened tonight?"

"The girl who died, Anna, cops think she O.D'd on Ecstasy." He informs me

"And you think they're wrong?" I asked him

"She-she was bleeding, out of everything. My manager wouldn't let me call 911 until we got her outside, and by that time she was already dead."

"Cops ask you why you waited to call them?" I asked

"They'd already written it off. Cops said they see people overdose in clubs all the time."

"Then there are probably other cases like this. I'll talk to them." I told him

"There was." He said and pulled out his phone showing me a picture of a girl, "Linda Heying. She died last week."

"How well did you know her?" I asked him

"We worked together." He said and took a drag

"She probably got her supply from the same place."

"There's enough of it around here." He mentions

"And everybody looks the other way."

"Yeah. If we want to keep our jobs. Linda wasn't using." He tells me

"How do you know?" I asked him

"She was my girlfriend."

* * *

"And the M. E. reports showed 3 other victims bleeding out over the last week." I inform the team via video chat

 _"Yeah. One in Harlem, two in the Village, all 5 of them categorized as Ecstasy overdoses."_ Garcia says

"And one of the victims may have been drugged without her knowledge." I tell them

 _"Ecstasy is frequently used as a date rape drug, but I've never seen it cause bleeding like this."_ Dave says

 _"Could it be a bad batch?"_ Strauss asked

 _"Well, uh, according to the M. E., the victims had so much MDMA in their systems that it caused their internal body temperature to go out of control. They boiled from the inside out."_ Garcia points out

 _"That's not typical of overdose victims either. We could be looking at product tampering, similar to the Tylenol cyanide poisoning in '86."_ Dave adds

"And the working theory in that case was that the unsub targeted a specific victim but dosed mass quantities to cover his tracks." I tell them

 _"So you're telling me these deaths could just be the start."_ Strauss asked

"Yes, ma'am. I'd like the team to join me in New York as soon as possible." I said

 _"We're on our way, Aaron."_ Dave tells me

"Thanks." I tell them and I end the call, after I did I saw Elizabeth walk into the station and started looking around, I got up and walked out of the room I was in

"Elizabeth." I said and she faced me, she had changed, her hair was shorter then it was when she left, it went to her shoulders now, she looked the same even though she was different.

"Hi" she said and hugged me which I returned, "What's going on? Where's Sean?"

"He's over there in the interrogation room."

"Why?" She asked

"He was witnessed to a death, he knows what is going on. It's just a precaution."

She sighed and looked into the room that held our brother, "Can I talk to him?"

"I can give you 10 minutes but then you need to leave." I told her and she looked at me confused

"Why do I have to leave?"

"The team is on their way." I told her and she looked down

"You mean Spencer's on his way too."

"Look normally I wouldn't care but I need him focused on this and if he sees you..."

"I'll distract him." She said finishing for me, "I understand. Let me talk to Sean and then I'll just head over to Beth's and spend some time with them." She said and I nodded as she walked to the interrogation room.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

It's been 3 months and not a day goes by that I don't miss Liz more and more, I really did understand why she left and I wasn't mad at her for it. I just wanted to see her again, kiss her, hold her, but right now I needed to focus on the case, the case involving her younger brother.

"This is more than product tampering. This is mass murder." Morgan said bringing me out of my thoughts

"Overdosing certainly seems like a hard sell now." Rossi adds

"How is he taking out experienced partiers and non-drug users at the same time?" Strauss asked

"He has to be dosing his victims without their knowledge somehow." Blake tells her

"Ecstasy can be made in pill, powder, and liquid form. It wouldn't be that hard to slip something into someone's drink or to convince them the pill they're taking is safe." I mentioned

"So even regular users might not know they're being dosed until it's too late." JJ says

"Why kill in such a graphic manner?" Strauss asked her

"Well, he gets off on the spectacle. It's not just about the victims with this guy. It's about the witnesses. He incites fear."

"Which means the unsub is desperate for attention, and he wants all eyes on his work because he craves recognition." Blake pointed out

"He'll be paying close attention to the media, then. It allows him to relive his crimes." Rossi said

"You know, the medium of his kill is interesting. He's picking a drug that's known for its euphoric effect. It's like he wants to take that happiness away." I tell them

"Well, it can't be a coincidence that the majority is victims are known drug users. He's taking the law into his own hands." Morgan says

"But what about the two who were clean? Linda Heying and Erik Sullivan's families insist they never touched the stuff." Blake asks

"Either the victims are good at hiding the truth or the unsub's killing for another reason. We should take a closer look and see how they're connected." Rossi told us and my phone rings, I stand up and walk away from the others and answer it.

"Hello?" There wasn't and answer but I could hear a faint breathing, "Hello?" I asked again, after a few more moments of silence I hear a dial tone.

* * *

"It's the drug." The kid tells me as he sits on the steps of the club

"Did you and your friends take the same pills?" I asked him

"Yeah. But it wasn't pills. It was liquid X."

"I'm just trying to understand did they take a lot more than you?" I asked and he nodded his head, "Why was that?"

"They had more money"

"Why would you want more doses? I mean, it appears that the drug had its intended effect." I told him

"Eventually, yeah. But it took forever and the others didn't want to wait."

"And how long does it normally take?" I asked

"An hour, maybe. But is stuff was different. It took nearly double that." He told me

"So your friends bought more doses, thinking the batch they'd taken was weak. How much more did they take? Do you know?" I asked

"Two vials, each."

"Do you think you'd be able to describe the person you bought the Ecstasy from?" I asked him

"Don't have to, he's right over there." He tells me indicating to the dead body

"Thank you." I said to him and walked to Morgan and JJ, "The delayed onset of the drug caused the victims to OD themselves."

"Well, that explains why the victims boiled. The higher the dose, the higher the heat." Morgan says

"Maybe it was designed that way. According to the M. E. Report, the Ecstasy was cut with a high volume of methamphetamine." JJ added

 _"Go for greatness."_

"Hey, baby girl. I need you to run a search on delayed onset MDMA. Meth amphetamine mixtures. See if you can find anything about-" Morgan tells her but she cuts him off

 _"Whoa!"_

"What?" JJ asked her

 _"Double oh to the whoa to the oh whoa power. There's a drug called para-methox...ish..."_

"Para-methoxymethamphetamine?" I asked

 _"Yes. What you just said. PMMA for short. It just hit the international market. Its street name, which I'm not making up, is Doctor Death. So coined because the drug keeps killing people. Apparently it's produced with such a huge percentage of meth, it masks the effects of the Ecstasy until the user's already taken too much."_

"MDMA costs more to make than methamphetamine, so it's common practice to mix the two in creating Ecstasy in order to maximize the profit margins." I tell them

"Like watering down liquor, except in this case, the water kills you." JJ points out

"So is this PMMA coming straight from the manufacturer, or is our unsub altering the drug supply to make it more lethal?" Morgan asked

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I finished up the dishes in Sean's apartment when my phone rang, "Hello?"

 _"Did you know about Sean's using?_ " Aaron asked me on the other end

 _Oh crap_ , I sighed, "Yes."

 _"Why didn't you tell me?"_

"Because he was getting clean and Linda was helping him Aaron, why do you think Sean had me come here to stay with him? He needed the help and...and he knew you would get angry." I told him and he sighed over the phone, "Look don't be mad at me or Sean, yes I knew about it but with mine and Linda's help he stopped."

 _"You should have told me Elizabeth."_

"I know, I'm sorry." I told him

 _"It's ok, I gotta go."_ He said and hung up

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Ecstasy isn't exactly an appetizer." Rossi said to me walking into the dining room

"You know, Kimberly Sullivan said she and her brother were drinking wine the night he died."

"It's almost empty." Rossi says looking at the bottle

"Do you mind?" I tell the lady fingerprinting the glass as I reached across her to grab something, "Thanks." I took a few drops of the wine and dropped them into the liquid and it turns blue, "The unsub wants to increase his body count. He doesn't care who he hurts."

* * *

 **Aaron POV...**

 _"Hello?"_

"Elizabeth, have you seen Sean?" I asked her over the phone

 _"The last I saw him he was heading over to the station to talk to you. Why what happened?"_

"Sean insisted on helping take down Thane and the club owner after two other people died, things went bad, Sean got into a fight with him, we arrested Thane but Sean's gone." I told her and she sighed

 _"What the hell Aaron?"_ She said and there was a pause, _"All right I'm coming to help."_

"No Elizabeth you can't."

 _"Aaron I can't just sit here while our brother is walking around like this!"_ She told me, I could hear the anger in her voice

"I know Elizabeth, but.."

 _"You can't have Spencer distracted I know."_ She said and paused, _"You better find him Aaron, and if I hear from him I'll let you know."_

"Thank you." I told her and hung up

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

 _"What can I do for you boy wonder?"_

"Hey can you um...track a number that's been calling my phone? I know it's probably nothing but with everything that's been going on." I told Garcia, I had another phone call today and again the person hung up.

 _"Sure what's the number?"_ She asked me

"It comes up blocked."

 _"Okay lets see here."_ She said and there was a pause, _"Okay I got it. It looks like it's...oh"_

"What?" I asked her

 _"It's um...it's Elizabeth's number."_

My heart sank, "Why would it be blocked?"

 _"If you dial star 67 before anyone's phone number it comes up blocked on their caller ID."_ She tells me.

"Ok, thank you Garcia." I said and hung up, _Liz._ I thought to myself and I smiled a little, she was trying, but I just want to hear her voice.

* * *

"The crash didn't kill him. Someone poured PMMA down his nose and throat." Morgan tells Hotch as he walks over to us

"The drug aside, this is a completely different M. O. He's no longer content to sit back and watch. Why?" I asked

"The overkill seems personal. Whoever did this had a definite grudge against Peters." Morgan tells him and Hotch looks at the body

"Garcia's running background and financial records on Sean."

"Hotch, you don't think you're overreacting?" Morgan asked him and I agreed

"He left the Edinburgh for a reason. We need to know why."

"You can't actually think that he did this?" Morgan asked

"I don't, but I can't eliminate the possibility until I know what he's hiding." Hotch told him

"Maybe we should look at this another way. We know Thane was responsible for dosing the wine. That was his own plan, not the unsub's. So how would a sociopath seeking recognition for his achievements handle someone interfering with his work?" I said, I never met Sean, but from the way Liz talked about him, I don't know, I felt like for her I had to help him

"He'd put a stop to it. Any way he could." Morgan points out

"That was after the Hatchitt parents were killed. As innocent victims, they were the deviation." Hotch adds

"So we were wrong. The unsub does care who dies." Morgan says

"Instead of targeting Thane, the unsub went after Peters. He held him responsible." I tell them

"He may hold Peters responsible for more than Thane's actions. I'm gonna have Garcia dig into his life." Morgan mentions

"In the meantime, we'll use that to find out what we can." Hotch says

* * *

 **Aaron POV...**

"Still no word from Sean?" Dave asked me walking into the room I was in and I shook my head, "We'll find him, Aaron."

"How does a guy who has everything going for him make one self-destructive choice after another? And then when it seems like he's gonna get his act together, it all falls apart again." I asked

"Were you two ever close?"

"He was in first grade when I was sent off to boarding school, Him and Elizabeth were close after that. I was the screw-up making bad choices. But at a certain point, I realized I could either continue to do that or I could get my act together. But this doesn't seem to occur to Sean." I told him

"I know he didn't show up for Haley's funeral."

"Right. And at that point I decided I couldn't make him a priority anymore. I was done, Elizabeth still talked to him though, she's always had a soft spot for him growing up" I said to him

"Have you talked to Elizabeth?" He asked me

"She came here when Sean was brought in."

"She's here in New York?" He asked and I nodded my head

"She has been for the past 3 months, she's been staying with Sean." I told him

"Does Reid know?"

"No, I told Elizabeth I didn't want him distracted if he knew she was here." I said

"I see, are you gonna tell once this is over?"

"Maybe, I'd have to ask Elizabeth first." I tell him

 _"Hello my pretties, I have seen the wizard and he granted my wish. Erik Sullivan and Catherine Hatchitt both withdrew money from the same ATM on the day that they died. That ATM is located in a bodega two blocks from the Edinburgh. What you want to bet that's where they bought their wine?"_ Garcia tells me and Dave

"Good work, Garcia. We'll send Morgan and Reid." I told Dave

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"How do you expect to stay in business if you open 20 minutes late every day?" I asked the shop keeper as me and Morgan walk up to him

"I got a hangover. What is it to you?"

"We'd like to talk to you about your inventory." Morgan tells him holding up his badge

"We pulled your shipping orders, Mr. Beaird. It appears you're selling more product than you're taking in." I told him

"Don't you guys have anything better to do than to harass an old shopkeeper?"

"Yes, actually we do, so can we not waste any time? Where do you get your extra goods?" Morgan asked

"Private donations."

"Do those donors include employees of local establishments?" I asked him

"Look, sometimes a guy nicks a bottle or the supplies from his place of employment and brings it to me. If I can sell it, I take it off his hands at a bargain price." He tells us

"Does that include cases of wine?" Morgan asked

"Yeah. I bought one a couple of weeks ago. Funny thing. The guy came back yesterday and paid the full price for what was left. Strange fellow."

* * *

 **Aaron POV...**

 _"Guys, I found something stranger than a time-traveling police box."_ Garcia tells me and Blake

"What's that?" I asked her

 _"I ran financial records for all the people who work at the Franklin airport. There is a baggage handler named Mike Spires who's been making ridiculously large cash deposits to his checking account on a weekly basis. Here's what's weird- he's been dead for the last 4 weeks."_

"So how's he still making deposits?" Blake asked and my phone rang, I looked down and saw it was Sean

"Hotchner."

"Aaron." Sean said on the other end

"Sean, you need to come in. We think you may be in danger from the unsub. He's targeting Edinburgh employees."

"Yeah, I heard about Jim Peters. Look, I didn't kill him." He tells me

"I know that. I also know why you ran."

"Of course you do." He says

"Just come in so that we can protect you. It's time to stop running."

"Solve the case and I'll stop." He tells me and hangs up

* * *

"If Spires has been dead for a month, he can't be our guy." Dave says

"Why would the dealers keep paying him?" Strauss asked

"They don't know that their courier died. Someone must have taken his place." I told her

"The unsub. He killed Spires so he could get his hands on the drug supply." JJ said

"Who else knew he was a courier? Another package handler?" Blake asked

"Sure. They must be on the take, too, paid to look the other way." Dave points out

"Garcia, do any of the baggage handlers show a history of drug abuse?" JJ asked her

 _"A few minor infractions, but nothing that sticks out."_

"All right, widen the search. Have any airport employees had a drug death in the family recently?" I asked

 _"Uh... Yeah. The daughter of Larry Feretich, Megan, she died two months ago of a suspected Ecstasy overdose."_

"There's your trigger." JJ says

"Where did she die?" Blake asked her

 _"Uh... The Obsidian. It's the other club owned by Jim Peters."_

"He's smart. He avoided dosing the Obsidian supply so we couldn't connect the murders to him." Dave mentions

"Garcia, where's Feretich now?" I asked her

 _"At the airport."_

"All right, notify Morgan and Reid." I tell her

 _"Yeah."_

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I was sitting with Jack, Aaron and Beth in her apartment when there was a knock on the door, "Here, buddy." Aaron tells Jack and hands him a toy

"Hey." Aaron said when he opened the door

"Hey."

"Come on in. Jack, do you remember Uncle Sean?" Aaron asked him

"Hey, Jack. It's been a long time." Sean says to him

"Hi."

"And this is Beth." Aaron introduced

"It's great to finally meet you." She said to him

""Yeah, well, it's not like we live in the same city or anything." He said and chuckled,

"Jack, how about we go look at all that cool stuff you got at the museum today, huh?" She asked him

"Ok."

"Say goodbye to Uncle Sean, Jack." I told him

"Bye."

"Bye. I'll see you soon, huh?" Sean asked and I hugged him which he returned, "So how did you know I took the wine?" Sean asked Aaron as we broke apart

"I know what you sound like when you tell a lie. You said something to Thane about the wine, and I could hear you calming yourself down."

"My brother the profiler." Sean says

"Hey, you sister's a profiler too you know?" I tell him and he smiles wrapping an arm around my shoulder

"It has more to do with being your brother than being a profiler." Aaron tells him, "What did you get for the wine?"

"100 bucks. I needed it for rent." Sean said and I looked at him

"Sean if you needed money for rent you could've asked me I would've helped you."

"I didn't want to make you feel obligated." He said and I shook my head

"Sean, you and I need to do better." Aaron tells him

"Yeah, I want to, Aaron. Look, I know what I have to do. Know any good lawyers?"

"I've made a couple calls. There are two officers waiting downstairs." Aaron says

"Yeah, I know. I saw them on my way up."

"We'll walk you down." Aaron tells him and I out my arm around Sean's waist and we made our way downstairs. We get to the police car and Sean turns to look at us, he shakes Aaron's hand then looks at me, I give him a hug then looked at him putting my hand on his face.

"I love you baby brother." I said and he smiled

"I love you too big sis." He leans down and kissed me on the cheek, "Go home." He said into my ear and got into the car. The car pulls away and Aaron wrapped his arm around my shoulder, we just stood there in silence watching Sean be driven away.

* * *

I got back to Sean's apartment and looked around then headed to the spare room I was staying in and looked at my suitcases, I've been here 3 months and I hadn't taken my clothes out of them, I've just been living out of them.

I sat down on my bed and grabbed my phone, I took a deep breath and dialed Spencer's number.

 _"Hello?"_ I heard him say as he answered, I went to open my mouth to speak but nothing came out, why couldn't I talk to him? " _Liz, I know it's you."_ He said and I closed my eyes.

"Hi"


	25. Chapter 25

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Hi" I said to him over the phone

 _"How-how are you?"_

"I'm okay." I tell him and there was a pause, "Spence?"

 _"Liz, why..um."_

"Why do I keep calling and hanging up?" I asked him

 _"Yeah"_

"I don't know..I guess I was just scared that you were mad at me for how I left and for the way I left...I just.."

 _"Liz, I'm not mad at you, I could never be mad at you."_ He tells me

"How can you not be mad at me Spence?" I asked getting up and walking over to the window, "After everything that happened with that girl all I wanted was for you to hold me and make me feel better like you always do, instead I hid at Aaron's, packed up my stuff and left."

 _"You were scared, and..and hurting, I understand why you did it and that's why I'm not mad, I love you."_ He said and I smiled.

"I love you too Spence."

 _"I wish I could see you."_ He tells me

"Where are you?" I asked him

 _"At a hotel in New York."_

I sighed, "I'm at Sean's apartment...in New York."

 _"You're here?"_ He asked me

"Aaron didn't want you to know, he didn't want you distracted."

 _"I'll come over what's the-"_ He started to say but I heard is phone beep, _"It's Hotch, something's going on with Strauss."_

"You should go."

 _"I don't want to hang up."_ He says and I smile

"I know hun, but if something is going on you need to go help."

 _"I love you, can I call you later? Maybe stop by?"_ He asked

"Please do, I love you too Spence." I told him and we hung up

* * *

 **Aaron POV...**

"Strauss isn't answering." Dave tells me as we make our way to the hotel

"Keep trying. Reid, any luck with Blake?" I asked him

"Not yet. The pictures of you and Elizabeth were taken outside of Beth's apartment. I get it if you want to stay with them until we find him." Dave tells me

"I've got agents surrounding Beth's building. She and Jack are safer without me, since we're the targets plus Elizabeth is there and she has her gun in case." I tell him and glanced at Reid, apparently Elizabeth has been trying to call him and they finally talked, he knew now she was in New York

"Blake, we'll pick you up in a few minutes. The Replicator's back." I hear Reid say on the phone

* * *

 _"Hotch. Something's wrong."_ Dave tells me over the phone and I make my way up to the room

"The window's open. She'd never sleep like that."

"Did something happen to make her drink again?" I asked him

"No! She was working real hard at-" He said and showed me Erin's pin, "This represents a year sober. She hasn't let to of it since she got it. She's even a sponsor now. The Replicator has her. I'll check the roof."

"I'll have Morgan meet you up there." I tell him and head down to the lobby

* * *

"Strauss is missing. Blake, you and Reid talk to hotel security. We need access points and footage from every camera. Morgan, back up Dave on the roof. JJ, take the west staircase, I'll take the east." I tell them and we split up

* * *

I made my way down the staircase when my phone rang, I looked at saw Strauss's name, "Erin."

 _"Not quite. Does it ever get confusing, that whole Erin/Aaron thing? Kind of like the whole Hotchner/Hotchner thing."_ The Replicator said to me

"Where is she?" I asked and made my way down the stairs and exited the building and looked around

 _"Closer than you think. But she's not doing well. She looks a bit pale. Remember the last time you got a call like this?"_ He asked me, _"Remember? George Foyet, right? You were too late. Will you be to late this time? To save her? To save your sister?"_

"You leave her out of this." I warned him

" _She will always be in this."_ He said and hung up

* * *

"Dave! Dave, I've got her! She's on a bench, she's a block east of the hotel. Call EMTs." I tell Dave on the phone as I run to Strauss and hang up, "Erin. Is he armed? Is he armed? Erin." I said and she just looked at me

"I tried to find you." She tells me snapping out of it

"It's ok. Help is on the way."

"Go-" She said and coughed

"Erin, you've been drugged. We need to get you to a hospital." I tell her helping her sit down

"No, I can't. It's happening so fast."

"Dave's called the paramedics." I tell her

"He said he's gonna race you home. Does that mean anything to you? You have to find him." She said to me, "It's so quiet. Why is it so quiet?"

"Erin, did you recognize him?" I asked her

"He put a gun to my head. He made me drink. I wish I'd let him kill me."

"Did you know him?" I asked her again

"No. He knows my family. He knows my children!" She yells and stands up but I grab her "You have to protect my kids! You have to find him!" She tells me

"We will. We will. Just take a breath."

"I love my children. Please tell them." She says crying

"They know. They know." I reassured her

"Once you said I loved my son the most. That's not true."

"I'm sorry. I was wrong." I tell her

"Aaron, I can't see you." She says to me

"I'm right here."

"I don't want to die alone." She cried

"I'm right here. It's ok." I tell her and pulled her into a hug, "Shh, shh... It's ok." her breathing slowed and before I knew it she was gone, Dave and MOrgan ran up to us and I just stayed there holding her.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"We've got an APB, but the description of the Replicator is too general." JJ tells us

"He wiped out all of the hotel security cameras. ATM and traffic cameras were compromised also. Which means he hacked into at least two dozen systems." I mentioned

"Well, he got into Garcia's place, which mean he can get in anywhere. This guy's bragging." Morgan asys

"He also wants us to know he can take massive risks and still get away with it. It's probably why he took Strauss into a crowd of people." I add

"That and to humiliate her publicly." JJ says

"But he called Hotch from her phone. It was important to him that we find her alive." Blake tells us

"The Director wants this contained and solved." Hotch said walking up to us

"Well, at least he's not taking us off the case." Morgan tells him

"He's given us 24 hours and then he will."

* * *

I sat on the jet away from everyone, took out my phone and dialed Liz's number,

" _Hey"_ She answers

"Hi"

" _Is everything okay?"_ She asked me

"Not really, The Replicator got Strauss, she's um...she's dead."

" _Oh my god. How's Rossi?"_ She asked

"He's not good. Look I know I said I would see you but.."

" _Catch this asshole, for Strauss."_

I smiled and looked at the others, they were caught up in their own stuff, "I love you."

" _I love you too, I'll talk to you later."_

"Bye" I said to her

" _Bye."_ She said and we hung up

* * *

"He knew about Foyet?" JJ asked Hotch as we got off the elevator to the BAU

"Who's that?" Blake asked

"He's the man who killed my wife. That's a classified case that's not in any database." Morgan points out

"Then how would he know about it?" Blake asked

"If he had access to the file, we're talking about someone on the inside." I mention

"Conference room in 5." Hotch tells us

* * *

"Garcia, is this everything?" Hotch asked walking into the round room

"Yeah. The Replicator stuff is here, and the team stuff is there and there. How's Rossi?" SHe asked

"Not good." Morgan told her

"Is he with Strauss?"She asked him

"Yeah."

"Ok. Uh-uh, I started with the question you asked- why attack Strauss, and on this day?" Garcia asked

"The most obvious answer is that it's an anniversary of some sort." I told her

"But there's nothing historically relevant."

"It could be the smallest thing. Concentrate on New York. If the date's that important, the setting could be, too." I tell her

"It would be easier to attack Strauss at home. Is there a reason why he waited for her to be out?" JJ asked

"Well, considering she's hardly ever in the field, he sure got a lot of photos of Strauss. It's like he's obsessed with her." Morgan mentioned

"Maybe Strauss was always his first target. He attacked the top of the BAU chain first." Blake adds

"All right, Reid, you've matched up all the murder locations with the dates. Now we need to know how long it would take to drive to each of these locations, assuming a home base in the district. He brought the fight here for a reason." Hotch says

"Well, it's nearly impossible to figure out when he arrived and departed New York, but we should try." Morgan said

"I'll collect all the public and private transport stuff." Garcia tells us

"Garcia, I need Kevin to go through every single pixel of these photographs. This unsub gets off on taunting us. He's given us answers here. We just haven't found them yet." Hotch tells her

* * *

"A figure 8?" Hotch asked Rossi on speaker phone

" _That's what it looks like. I just sent you all a picture."_

"Maybe it's an infinity symbol." I pointed out

"Well, if it's infinity, he could be boasting 'I'll go on forever'?" Blake asked

"Or if it's an 8, Strauss was his eighth victim." Morgan says

"And the unofficial eighth member of our team." JJ tells us

"If this is a taunt from him, it's too random." Hotch said

"Well, he's only sent one message and he seems to be real proud of it." Morgan adds

"Zugzwang." I said

"Then what does this mean? Rossi, the cut looks jagged. Any idea what caused the serration?" JJ asked him

" _Best guess is a piece of glass."_

"Maybe he used empty bottles from the mini bar?" Morgan asked

" _Those were all plastic. The M. E. is checking for splinters now."_ Rossi tells us

"All right, let us know what you find out." Hotch tells him and hangs up, "Anything from the photographs yet?" He asked Morgan

"We blew up a few more and this one seems to stand out."

"When were you in a tuxedo?" JJ asked him

"It was a British embassy event."

"Security clearance is high." Blake mentions

"Security was insane there. That kind of accessibility, plus knowing about Foyet, the fact that he was able to get through all of my security clearances alone, you guys are right. You have to trust your gut. The Replicator has gotta be on the inside." Garcia tells us

"The Director needs to know the status of the system failure." Hotch tells her

* * *

"If the Replicator's an insider, is there any way Strauss knew him?" JJ asked Hotch

"She said she didn't recognize him."

"To her defense, she was disoriented by the drug overdose." I tell him

"She was adamant about it."

"Well, even if Strauss didn't know him, it doesn't mean he didn't know her." Morgan adds

"Within the Bureau, she is the face of the BAU." Blake says

"And clearly a target from the beginning. But why?" JJ asked us

"More importantly, what was he replicating?" I asked

"The drug overdose." Blake tells me

"I mean with the 8. It hasn't been part of any other case, and he's not one to make mistakes. He thought he was replicating a crime."

"The Director made us walk away from the case a few months ago. Strauss said that she wouldn't let it go. What if she hadn't?" Hotch asked

"You think she started her own investigation?" JJ asked him

"Well, if she thought he was an insider, she might have done something to trap him."

"Why wouldn't she have told you about that back in New York?" Morgan asked him

"Maybe she didn't have proof. But her determination, plus the fact that he doesn't make mistakes makes me think that the 8 was part of her plan to catch him." Hotch tells us, "Do we have her laptop?"

* * *

"At least this narrows it down. Finding someone on the inside should be easier." Blake said

"Not necessarily. If our unsub was trained by law enforcement, he'd know how to fit in perfectly." I tell her

"There's meaning and purpose to everything he does. Why did he choose to replicate the Silencer case?" Morgan asked

"Well, that unsub went dormant for years 'cause he was locked up. Is that a clue about the Replicator?" JJ asked him

"Well, it speaks to his patience. What about his M. O.? He sewed mouths shut."

"It symbolizes keeping secrets. There could be something in that." Blake adds

"He's targeting everyone. So how does that particular case factor into all of us?" I asked

"It's the first one Garcia and I worked on with Blake." Morgan answered

"Yeah, but the rest of us worked on the Seattle case before that." JJ mentions

"Right. The unsub who used his kid to bait the victims." Blake says

"We need to see if he replicated that one." I tell them

* * *

We stood around the bullpen when we see Rossi walk in, he doesn't look at us, he just walks up the stairs and goes into his office.

"I need everybody in the conference room." Hotch tells us walking in

* * *

"A dozen federal employees have read our case files over the last two years. They all went through the highest levels of security. Each of those names needs to be checked against Reid's list." Hotch says handing us papers

"We should get them all in here and start the interrogations." Blake tells us

"If he knows we're looking his way, he might retreat. We should also check the support staffs of all those employees." Hotch adds

"Each one has two assistants, so we're already up to 36 people." JJ mentioned

We should start with agents who work a 4-day, 40-hour week, given the fact that most of the murders happened over a long weekend, which means if the unsub traveled by car, no one at work would've missed them." I said

"Well, he probably wouldn't fly. It would leave a paper trail." JJ inputs

"What's this?" Hotch asked Blake as she handed him a piece of paper

"The Replicator's first case was the same as mine. Remember the sadist who made Ridgeway look tame?" She asked him

"In Seattle, so it wasn't the Silencer."

"Do you think it's a coincidence he started all of this when I joined the team?" Blake asked

"I don't know." Hotch said and looked out the round room window, "Dave's back? Excuse me."

* * *

"They've given him a sedative and they're going to take him to the infirmary. He's gonna be ok." Hotch tells us walking into the bull pen area as we see Rossi on a stretcher

"How did it get into his system?" Blake asked him

"The report must have been dusted with whatever he used on Strauss."

"Luckily the trans dermal absorption rate was lower than her ingestion of it, so it wasn't fatal for Rossi." I said

"Then this was a warning. If he wanted to kill Rossi, he had every chance to do it." JJ points out

"If this is his endgame, why is he wasting time with warnings?" Blake asked

"He's toying with us and we're playing into him. He's turned Rossi against Morgan. Even if it was temporary, he wanted to show it could be done."

"But why?" JJ asked

"Strauss was dosed with a chemical cousin of Doctor Death. He altered it so her torture would be longer." Morgan tells us walking over

"A biochemist, computer hacker, and federal agent? Who the hell is this guy" JJ asked

* * *

"Only half the cameras are working because the system is still rebooting itself, so the security guards have to go old school. That means everyone has to sign in. You can't take your I. D. And run it through- well, you know what old school means. So, if you have a badge, you don't get harassed. The man who signed in to see Rossi went up to the sixth floor, held the door open for Kevin and Anderson..." Garcia tells us

"I can't believe he was right there." Kevin said

"Walked through our BAU into Rossi's office, signed in as Adam Worth."

"Adam Worth?" I asked

"Isn't that the same alias he used when Elizabeth went missing?" JJ asked me

"Yeah, which means it's not just a taunt. It speaks directly to his psychology. Adam Worth was a famous criminal from the late 1800s, commonly referred to as the Napoleon of Crime. This unsub obviously sees himself in the same light."

"So this guy is a malignant narcissist who wants to be known as the worst enemy we've ever had." Morgan says

"And look, he's careful to hide his face from the cameras." Blake mentioned

"Because he knows exactly where they are." Hotch says

"Excuse me agent Hotchner." Someone says from the doorway, "This was dropped off for you and Dr. Reid." He says holding and envelope, Hotch and I looked at each other. We had someone bring us a pair of gloves before touching the letter. Hotch went and opened it while I stood over his shoulder and looked, when he pulled something out my heart stopped, it was a picture of Elizabeth walking down a street with the words _You thought she was safe didn't you_ written on it

I walked quickly out of the room and grabbed my phone dialing her number

 _Hi this is Agent Elizabeth Hotchner with the BAU I am unable to come to the phone right now but please leave your name and number and I'll give you a call back as soon as I can_

"Liz it's me, please call me back when you get this. The Replicator sent me and Hotch a picture of you, I need to know you're safe." I said and hung up, _Please be okay_

"Anything?" Hotch asked me walking out of the round room

"I got her voicemail, told her to call me back when she gets it."

"She'll be okay Reid." He tells me putting a hand on my shoulder

"I hope she is."

* * *

"The Replicator has directly taunted everyone on this team except for me." Blake says to us

"You may be part of his endgame." Hotch tells her

"Then so was Strauss."

"He chose to use drugs as his final replication. That's no accident." JJ mentioned

"Is that a connection to you?" Hotch asked Blake

"Strauss and I had issues during the Amerithrax case. It started in New York with poison."

"And it was delivered by envelopes." I add

"Why would anyone on the inside hold resentment over that case?" Morgan asked

"Because that person suffered a professional setback just like Blake, but was patient and psychotic enough to get revenge." Hotch tells him

"I am all over the DOJ names including support staff. I have Kevin pulling files and photos. System is down, so it's hard to check entire career paths, but there were two agents in New York in 2001. Scratch that-Lehman died in October- that leaves Curtis." Garcia tells us coming into the room a placed files down in front of us

"Wait a second? John Curtis?" Blake asked her

"You know him?"

"I haven't seen him in a long time. He was a nice guy. We were first office agents together, but I thought he left the Bureau after the Amerithrax case." Blake says

"Could it be him? Does he fit the profile?" Hotch asked her

"He was quiet and a loner, but brilliant. He specialized in a lot of fields, but his passion was biochemistry." Blake tells us

* * *

 _"He inherited a family compound in rural Virginia. Coordinates on on your phone."_ Garcia tells us through our ear pieces as we made our way to the roof in our vests to the helicopters

"What else do you have on Curtis?" Blake asked her

 _"Just like you thought. John Curtis was demoted in the FBI after the Amerithrax case. He was slated to take over the coveted New York field office, but then was shipped to the not coveted Kansas City one. He worked there for many years quietly before he was able to weasel his way back into the nation's capital. On paper he is a rock star. He immediately transferred to the Department of Justice, the intelligence oversight section. He's a genius on multiple levels."_

"What's his background?" Hotch asked

 _"Only child, parents died when he was 18. Never married. Total loner, just like Blake said."_

"Then all he's ever had to care about is his work." Hotch points out

"And when he lost that, he snapped." Morgan added

We make it to the roof and run to the choppers, I get in the one with Blake and Hotch while Morgan and JJ get in the other.

"HRT will divide us up when we land." Hotch says and the helicopters split off

* * *

 _"As you can see from the geo ref'd he's got plenty of privacy. 5 1/2 acres, 3 structures, house included."_ Garcia tells us and the screens on the chopper went out

"Garcia." Hotch tells her

 _"I see it, too, sir. It must be some sort of system override."_ Just then the alarm goes off _,_ and the helicopter starts to shake, _"What's happening?"_

"Autopilot's seized." The pilot says

 _"Oh, God."_

The pilot reached over and flipped a switch and the screens come back on, "I got it back." The pilot tells us

 _"Are you ok?"_ Garcia asked

"We're stabilized." Hotch tells her, after a few minutes the alarm sounds and the helicopter shakes again

"Brace for impact." The pilot tells us and I grabbed the handle above my head

"Mayday, mayday, mayday! Mayday, mayday, mayday!"

 _I love you Liz_

* * *

"Are you guys all right?" I hear Morgan asked and I rubbed my head as my door opened

"Yeah." I tell him

"Where's Blake?" JJ asked I looked and saw that Blake's seat was empty

"What the hell is this? What is this?" Morgan asked picking up a canister

* * *

"If he'd wanted to kill all of us, he could have." JJ says to us as we walk across the field

"He's playing God, just like he's done all year. He hard-landed us, knocked us out with whatever was in those canister he could take Blake." I added

"He had plenty of chances to take her before tonight. He wants it to be a spectacle." Morgan mentioned

* * *

"We're ready to breach the house." Hotch tells us as we approach the house and SWAT moves forward guns drawn. We split up, JJ and Morgan head inside while me and Hotch head into the cellar and we ran into the others. Morgan opens a door in the basement and we see Blake there tied to a chair.

"Which way did he go?" JJ asked her taking off the mouth gag

"I don't know."

"Morgan, you and JJ find him. We've got this." Hotch tells them and they left

"He said he used 8 locks because there used to be 8 of us." Blake tells us and I looked at the locks

"That's all he said?" Hotch asked her

"About that, yes."

"There's only 6 keys. That mean two keys will be used twice. Each key is a letter, likely corresponds to a number on the locks. 7-seventh letter of the alphabet's G." I said

"What are the other letters?" Hotch asked me

"Um, Z, U, W- Zugzwang." I said with realization, "It's too easy."

* * *

"He's got the placed lined with C-4. We've only got 3 minutes." Morgan tells us walking back into the room

"This seems too easy. Zugzwang almost means a dilemma in chess where the best move is not to move at all." I said getting Blake free and she starts to stand up, "Wait, don't get up!" I told her but it was to late, "It's a pressure sensor." Just then the door closes

* * *

"Everybody get back! There's C-4 in the basement." Hotch tells everyone as we run towards the vehicles, "Everybody back!"

"Wait, where's Rossi?" I asked

"He was right behind me." Morgan says

"Dave!" Hotch yelled

"He just let us out. Why would he go back in?" Morgan asked

A few minutes later we see Rossi running towards us and the next thing we knew the house exploded, we all just stood there and watched.

* * *

We all sat around the table at Rossi's laughing and telling stories about Strauss when Rossi clicks his glass, "Last year, right here, we had a...very different celebration. Of life, of love, and good people. This year it's the, uh, other side of that. Because, well...that's what families do. It's been a hard year." He says and looks at me, "But tonight...we celebrate a life well lived...well loved...to a good woman...an even better mother...to our friend...who I will miss very much." He finished and we all raised our glasses.

"We also celebrate..." Rossi starts again but JJ cut him off

"Old returns." She says and we follow where she's looking

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I stood there and watched as they all clinked their glasses, "We also celebrate..."

"Old returns" JJ says cutting Rossi off and they all turn and look at me. Spencer looked at me in shock then stood up and rushed over to me pulling me into his arms and hugging me which I returned, I didn't want this moment to end, I wanted to stay like this, but he pulled away putting his hands on my face.

"Wha-"

"I wanna come home." I told him and his kissed me then the others walked over

Aaron pulled me into a hug, then JJ, Morgan, Blake and Garcia did as well and when I pulled away from her I looked at Rossi, I walked over to him.

"I'm so sorry Rossi." I tell him and he pulls me into a hug.

I was finally where I belonged, I was with my family, my home.


	26. Chapter 26

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Ugh is it morning already?" I asked hitting the snooze on my alarm and laid there, then I feel someone put their arm around me and kiss my back, I giggled and turned to face Spencer kissing him on the lips, "Good morning."

"Morning" He said and moved himself above me, he trailed kisses down my neck to my collarbone, it has only been a few weeks but I was so glad to be home, I put my fingers in his hair as he slid his hands up my side giving my breast a squeeze and I moaned tightening my grip. he shifted his hips postioning himself between my legs then pushed himself in.

"Oh!" I moaned as he moved his hips agonizingly slow at first, "Faster...harder." I panted in his ear and he moved his mouth towards my ear.

"Say please." He whispered, god this man knows how to make me melt

"Please...Spencer" I begged and he picked up the pace pushing deeper into me, "Oh god!" I moaned out loud as we moved together

"Oh Liz" He grunted and gave a few more thrusts and I gripped his shoulders

"OOHH!" I moaned and we both finished laying there looking at each other.

"I missed you." He said and I kissed him

"I missed you too, I'm never leaving you again." I told him and we got up, got ready, well tried to but we ended up doing it again in the shower, then left for work. Now that everyone knew about us we could arrive together and hold hands when we walked inside the bullpen.

* * *

"I just put in new brakes. She's running like a dream." Rossi tells Spencer showing him a picture of and old VW Bug on his tablet

"I always admired the aesthetic of the classic Torpedo C body, especially in the 1947. They just don't make them like that anymore."

"Yeah, well, I'm lucky to have found it. Uncle sal would be proud." Rossi tells him and Aaron walked in

"Thank you for coming in, everyone. We can get started." He said and I looked at him

"Were you here all night?" I asked and he nodded, I just shook my head and looked at the screen

"Ok. Guys, meet Samantha Wilcox, 16-year-old junior in Wichita, Kansas. Last night she snuck out with her boyfriend, they were attacked, she hasn't been seen since." Garcia tells us showing us the pictures

"Boyfriend got a broken jaw and a concussion?" Morgan asked

"And the description of the attacker matches her father, Eddie Lee Wilcox." Aaron says

"Ex-con." Blake added

"Oh, is he ever. Still on parole. Eddie is a car thief and wheel man extraordinaire." Garcia tells us

"String of assault charges, too. Been in and out of jail since he was a kid." JJ mentioned

"We don't usually work parental abduction cases." Blake says

"We do when the abduction's violent and dad's a former convict." Rossi tells her

"He hasn't been incarcerated in over 3 years. I mean he's had ample opportunity. Why pick yesterday to kidnap her?" Spencer asked

"Well, he beat the boyfriend within an inch of his life to do it, so taking her had to be real important." Morgan tells him

"And apparently Eddie was none too pleased that Samantha's mom melody had decided to remarry and then move from Chicago to Wichita." Garcia said

"He lost visitation rights the last time he got locked up." I point out

"So the anger about that is the stressor that builds up over the years. Last night he decides to do something about it." JJ says

"This could be vengeance for taking his daughter away." Spence tells us

"If it's revenge against the mother, he'll either hurt Samantha or disappear with her." Rossi points out

"She's been missing for over 5 hours, and we know how time sensitive these cases are." Aaron tells us and I looked at him, something was off with him, "The AMBER Alert is expanding...every hour..." He struggles to get out, "Excuse me." He says trying to walk away

"Hotch!" Morgan says and he falls over

"Aaron!" I yelled going to him checking him over, thankfully he didn't hit his head, "Aaron?" I asked but got no response.

* * *

"Mr. Hotchner? Mr. Hotchner, can you hear me?" The EMT asks him as he lays on the gurney in the ambulance, I was sitting nest to him holding his hand, "He's not responding. Pulse is thready. Starting lactated ringers, wide open."

"Systolic's dropping. BP's 90 over 60." The other one says

"You stay with me, Mr. Hotchner. Ok. Stay with me."

"Come one Aaron" I said to him

* * *

"Bleeding internally from what?" JJ asked me over video chat

"They think it's probably all the scar tissue." I told her

"Torn adhesion from the stab wounds." Spencer said and I nodded

"George Foyet returns from the grave." Morgan says

"What's the prognosis?" Blake asked me

"He's stable right now. Did an ultrasound, but can't seem to see exactly where the bleeding was coming from."

"He'll need an exploratory laparotomy." Spencer points out

"Does Jack know?" JJ asked me

"Not yet. I talked to Haley's sister Jessica. I don't want to worry him."

"What about Beth?" Blake asked

"I left a message, but she's on a business trip in Milan. Look, I know you're all worried. So am I. But a teenage girl has been abducted, and Hotch would want us to focus on the case, not on him. And that's exactly what we're gonna do. When the plane lands, Morgan, JJ, I want you to interview Samantha Wilcox's mother. Reid, Blake, you go check out the abduction site. I'm catching the the next flight to Wichita and I'll meet you there." Rossi tells them, he met me at the hospital after Aaron was rushed there

"What about Hotch?" Blake asked him

"Garcia's here. She's not going anywhere."

"And I'm staying because I have Aaron's power of attorney, I need to be here." I told them

"Now, let's go find this girl." Rossi tells them and hangs up

* * *

 **Garcia POV...**

"Get him into O. R. 2 right away."

"Yes, Doctor." The nurse tells him as we exit the elevator, I sent Elizabeth to get herself some coffee because her sitting there biting her fingernail was driving me nuts, just then my cell phone rang

"Hey, Morgan."

 _"How is he?"_ He asked me

"He's still out. They're taking him to surgery now."

 _"Listen, we need those big old brains of yours if you're ready."_ He says

"Born ready."

 _"All right, we need you to check out all of Samantha Wilcox's texts and email correspondence."_ JJ tells me

"Ok. What am I looking for? Anything in particular?"

 _"She's been in touch with her dad on the D.L. there might be something in there."_ Morgan tells me

 _"Oh, and check ViCAP for any recent armed robberies between Wichita and Eddie Lee Wilcox's last known address in Chicago."_ JJ adds

"Why?"

 _"Well, according to Samantha's mom, Eddie may have been more than a car thief."_ Morgan tells me

"How much more?" I asked him

 _"Armed robber more. He may be running from something work related."_

"Got you. They just wheeled Hotch into the surgery right now." I tell them

 _"All right, keep us posted."_ Morgan says

"You know I will."

* * *

 **Aaron POV...**

I pulled up to an old movie theater in a cab, got out and headed inside. No one was around and when I walked in there was a red balloon in front of me, I walked towards it but it moved leading me into a screening room. I see someone sitting there and I walk over, I nearly fell over when I saw Haley sitting there.

"Hi, honey. I saved you a seat."

* * *

"You look so beautiful." I tell her sitting down next to her

"You're not so bad yourself."

"I miss you." I said

"I know. Ooh, it's starting. Oh, look how happy he is." She says and we look at the screen, the movie is playing the day I ran in the marathon, Jack was holding a sign cheering me on then it shows Beth, "Who's that?" Haley asked me

"Her name is Beth."

"He's gotten so big." Haley said with her voice breaking, "Hmm. Oh, she's really good with him." She tells me as it shows us underneath Jack's fort

"She's not you. And I'm not enough." I tell her

"Oh, stop beating yourself up. You're a great dad. You always have been."

"It's hard. And I'm alone." I say

"No, you're not, you've got Elizabeth." She says and it shows Elizabeth and Jack laying in his bed together as she reads him a book

"She has someone now though." I say to her and it shows Elizabeth and Reid laughing as we sat a restaurant with the team eating.

"You know Jack will always come first to her." She says, "I miss her." Haley tells me, the video switched to Haley and Elizabeth laughing together at Jack's 3rd birthday party

"Her and Jack miss you, too." I tell her

"Well, then you should talk about me more. You should talk more, period." She says and wipes the tears from my face, "He's not like you. He needs to hear the words." She tells me and we see the video of Jack's soccer game, "Ohh! Go! Go. Go! Go! Goal! Oh! Ohh..." She cheers and I smile.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I sat in the chair on the waiting room fidgiting, I tried to read a magazine but put it down, tried playing Angry Birds, tried reading my book, nothing was stopping me from worrying, just then my phone rang, it was Spencer.

"Hey you" I answered

 _"Hey, hows it going?"_

"He's still in surgery." I tell him

 _"How are you doing?"_ He asked me

"I'm okay." I lied

 _"Liz"_

"I hate that I can't lie to you." I said to him and he chuckled, "I'm scared Spence, I haven't been able to keep my mind off him in there."

 _"How many times have chewed on your nail?"_ Damn him

"Twice." I said, it was a lie

 _"Liz.."_

"5 times." I admitted, "But in my defense I was trying other things, reading, playing my game, nothings working."

 _"He'll be ok sweetie"_ He says to me

"I know, but you know me."

 _"I do, that's why I'm telling you he will be ok."_ He said and I smiled

"I love you, you know that?"

 _"I love you too, I'll call you later."_ He says

"Bye" I told him

 _"Bye"_

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"This guy's not coming." Morgan tells me as I sat there reading my book, I just got off the phone with Liz, I wish I could be there with her but Rossi was right, Hotch needed us on this case.

"Mm, we really haven't been here that long." I tell him

"Yeah, but if he wanted to make a run for the border, he'd have been caught in the net by now. Maybe we made him switch directions."

"Well, we can't cover everything. Texas is huge. 268, 581 square miles, to be exact. Largest state in the contiguous 48 and the second-most populous. Don't mess with Texas." I said to him, "Hey, you want to read? I always do when I'm anxious." I tell him handing him a book

"'The Magical Mathematics of Quantum Physics.' Ohh. Nope. I'm good. I'll wait for the movie." He says and hands me back the book, "How's Liz?"

"She's trying to be ok, I know she's worried and everything, but it's not good for her to worry."

"Well as long as she has you I'm sure she'll be okay." He tells me

"Yeah, but I wish I could actually be there for her."

"Look kid," He says and sits down in front of me, "You are there for her, whether you're here or there and she knows that. I've never seen two people more in love with each other then you two are, you could be thousands of miles apart and still be there for each other with just your hearts."

I smiled at him and looked down, he was right, that amazing girl has stolen my heart, and I've stolen hers, I loved her with everything that I am, "Thanks Morgan." I tell him and he pats me on the leg and stands up

* * *

 **Aaron POV...**

"She's cute." Haley tells me as we watch the videos of me and Beth, just then somebody walks towards us

"Excuse me. Ah... Sorry. Ooh, ooh, pardon me. Oh- Ahh." The man takes off his hood, it's Foyet, "I hope I didn't miss anything."

"What's he doing here?" I said turning to face them

"Oh, it's ok. I invited him." Haley says

"Wowza. She is hot." Foyet said

"Mm. Isn't she?" Haley asked him I would tear that up.

"Hey, I bet she's a real tiger in the sack, huh? Ha ha ha ha! Ooh, popcorn?" He asked me and I just glared at him

"No."

"Would you like some?" He asked Haley

"Mm. Yes, thank you. Oh." She says and grabs some out of his bowl, Foyet takes a gun and points it towards Haley and shoots her, I flash back to that day as I kneeled over him beating him to death.

"Haley!" I yell putting my coat on her wound, "No, no, no, no. I need more pressure. Somebody help me! Help me, please!"

"Would you pipe down a little bit?" Foyet asked me and I looked at her

"Haley, I'm sorry. This is all my fault."

"Oh, my God. Come on." Foyet says

"I can't stop the bleeding. I can't stop the bleeding!" I said

"It's ok. You're not supposed to." She tells me

"She's right. So can we watch the show? Thank you." Foyet asked

* * *

"Haley, I'm sorry. This is all my fault." I tell her as I keep holding my coat there

"Mm-hmm." She says still looking at the screen, "Ohh..." She chuckles

"That was awesome." Foyet says to Haley as the movie theater lights come back on

"Mm."

"Well, it's time to go." Haley says to me and I move my coat away from her stomach, the gunshot wound was gone

"I gotta go take a leak. I'll meet you guys in the lobby, all right?" Foyet says standing up and patted me on the shoulder

"Ok. Well, this was fun." She says to me as we walk into the lobby of the theater

"I don't want you to go." I tell her

"What about Jack? And Beth? And Elizabeth. They need you now more than ever."

"Just a little while longer?" I asked

"There's no time." She says

"Please?"

"You have to go back now." She tells me

"I want to stay with you."

"I know you're the big boss man, but you can't always have your way, you know. Sometimes you just have to roll with it." She says to me and walks past me

"I don't know how." I tell her

"Happiness is a choice. So choose."

"But how? How do I choose?" I asked and we walked outside, I was back in my hospital gown

"Get out of your head. The heart is the one that knows, so follow it. Nice car." She says

"Hey, what gives? I thought were were gonna meet in the lobby. Oh, anybody gonna catch the subway downtown? I hear it's gonna be a hot one." Foyet says looking at me, "No? All right, then. Hey. This was great. Huh? We gotta do this again." He tells Haley and hugs her, "Come here, big guy. Ahh!" He says hugging me, "Take care of yourself, all right? Jeez Louise, loosen up a little bit. Would it kill you to smile? Seriously." He walks away and vanished

"Beth's a keeper. And Jack really likes her. So don't screw it up." Haley tells me and walks over to me, places her ring in my hand then kisses me, "Goodbye, Aaron. And, yes, I still love you, too." She tells me and walks away then vanishes.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

Aaron finally got out of surgery, me and Garcia were sitting in his room waiting for him to wake up.

"Hi, sir. Welcome back." I hear Garcia say and I see Aaron had his eyes opened, "Do you feel ok? Do you need anything?" She asked him

"What happened?" He asked and I put my hand on his

"Uh, you collapsed and they performed emergency surgery because you were bleeding internally. The doctor said it had something to do with the stabbing. But you're fine. There were some complications with the operation, but you're-you're ok." I tell him

"You're like as healthy as a puma, a bedridden puma. But my point is you're gonna be fine." Garcia adds and I chuckled

"Where's Jack?" He asked

"He's at home with Jessica. Should I send for him?" I asked him

"Please. And I need my phone." He says and Garcia hands him his phone, "Thank you. I need to call Beth."

"Ok. Uh, so I'm gonna... Call Jessica and let the team know you're ok." She tells him and hugs him

"Oh!" He grunted

"I'm sorry. It's ok. Sir, I'm sorry. I'm just-I'm- I'm really happy you're back. You had us worried sick." She tells him

"Garcia... Thank you for staying."

"Ohh... Wild horses, sir. Just wild horses." She says and leaves.

"I'll give you some privacy." I tell him leaning down and kissed him on the head then started to walk out of the room.

"Elizabeth" I hear him say and I face him, "Thank you, for everything."

"Anytime big brother, I'm glad you're ok."

"One more thing." He says to me and I looked at him

"What's that"

"Haley misses you." He said and I looked at him shocked fighting back tears.

"What?" I asked, my voice broke a little

"I saw Haley, she said she misses you." He says and I swallowed the lump in my throat, walked over and gently hugged him

"I miss her too." I tell him and he rubs my back

"She knows"

* * *

"Excuse me. Sir, you have a visitor." Garcia tells him opening the door as me and Jessica brought Jack in, Jessica was holding balloons and Jack ran in.

"Dad!"

"Buddy." He tells Jack as he jumps and hugs Aaron, "Easy." He tells him as they hug

"You ok?"

"I am now." Aaron tells him and Jessica wraps her arm around my shoulder and I look at them and smile.

 **A/N: I know I know it's short, but I wanted to do this episode. BTW where did everyone go? I love my loyal readers for your comments they mean the world to me but please if you want to see me add anything send me a PM or let me know on here, also thank you to everyone who is following the story and adding it to your favorites I love seeing that I am making everyone happy.**


	27. Chapter 27

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Thank you." Garcia tells me and Spencer as we walk into her apartment, "Ok, just put everything on the counter and I'll put it away later."

"I like your altar." He tells her and I set down a bag

"Thank you. Yeah, there's still a lot to do before the party next week, and... I'm scared. I've never had the whole team here before."

"Why are you doing a Day of the Dead theme?" I asked her

"Well, uh, my stepfather's family always made a big deal of it in Mexico, and my name is Penelope Garcia, after all, so... Hey, could you check my refrigerator and see if I have enough hot sauce?" She asked him and he opened the fridge

"You have some jalapeno sauce here next to this jar of eyeballs, but I think you're gonna need more, depending on which guacamole you plan on making." He tells her walking over from the fridge and I saw her put fake blood by her eyes, "You ok?" He asked her walking up next to me

"You didn't even flinch. JJ's right. I told her I wanted to go scary this Halloween, and she just laughed at me and she said that I don't have a scary side." Garcia says and I rub her shoulder

"I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better, you probably do." I tell her

"Really?"

"Yeah. The building blocks of the human personality are complex, varied, and multi-faceted. It's essential to one's mental health to want to express these hidden personalities, and it's a fact of nature that everybody has one." Spencer tells her agreeing with me

"Everybody? You have one?" She asked him and I snorted, I saw him give me the death glare

"Sorry" I told him hiding a smile

"Oh, absolutely."

"Yeah. Ok. Ok. I want to see it. I want to see Dr. Spencer Reid's hidden personality." She tells him, I'm trying so hard not to laugh right now

"Uh-you, uh- right here? Like right now you want to see it?" He asked her

"I have fake blood running down my cheeks right here, right now."

"Ok. Once you see it, you can't unsee it." He tells her

"Ok."

He moves away from me and grunts, "I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, did that guy just fire 5 shots? Or did that guy just fire 6 shots? You're gonna have to ask yourself a question. Do you feel lucky, punk?" He says and Garcia looks at him and I'm failing to hold back a laugh, "That's Clint Eastwood, in Dirty Harry." He says to her

"Oh."

"I mean, I know it's not as effective as my dominant personality but..." He says

"Oh I don't know I was pretty scared." I jokingly tell him and he looks at me and puts his hands on my waist

"Oh really?" He asked me

"Mmhm" I said and bit my lip

"Well let me comfort you." He says and kisses me

"Okay you two know it off or I'll get the hose, we gotta go." Garcia tells us, I kiss Spencer one more time and we left

* * *

"Oh, I recognize that face from somewhere." Rossi says as we walk into the round room

"It's good to have you back, Hotch." Morgan tells him and I give him a hug

"It's good to be back. Thanks." He tells him and we all sit down, "And under the heading of no rest for the weary..." He says to Garcia

"A woman was found dead yesterday near Provo, Utah, buried under a pile of rocks. Her face was smashed. Her head was smashed. Pretty much everything smashed."

"24 hours later she's still a Jane Doe?" Spencer asked

"No personal items were found at the scene, and the severity of her injuries made official recognition impossible." Aaron told him

"So Provo missing persons has like zero intel on her." Garcia informs us

"Well, it looks like the victim was tortured. Lacerations on both arms and a burn in the neck area." Morgan points out

"It could be the killer's way of silencing her, literally and figuratively." I added

"The robe she's in almost looks ceremonial." Rossi says

"Yeah, the unsub must have changed her clothing." Spencer mentioned

"Could be a straight-up woman hater. Took away her clothes, her voice, her identity." Morgan says

"And then covered her with rocks. Might be a concealment or an expression of remorse." Blake inputted

"It looks like a makeshift tomb, if you ask me." Rossi says

"Have there been similar killings in the area?" JJ asked

"None that we know." Aaron answered

"I'm impressed, Hotch. How'd you get the brass to let us investigate a single, isolated murder?" Rossi asked him

"I told them that the ritualistic nature means that he's forensically sophisticated and organized and he's likely killed before."

"And likely will kill again." Blake added

"Which means we can't waste time. Wheels up in 20."

* * *

"Single victim, unidentified. Not much to go on." JJ says to us

"Let's start with the basics. Those rocks were heavy, so our killer's most likely male, probably in good physical shape." Morgan pointed out

"There could be more than one unsub." I tell him

 _"Newsflash. We just got lucky with dental records. Our Jane Doe is Gloria Carlyle, 24-year-old grammar school teacher. One red flag, and it's pretty Scarlet, carmine, crimson. She used to belong to a utopian-style sect in town. She joined it right out of high school."_ Garcia tells us over the computer

"Used to belong?" Rossi asked her

 _"Mm-hmm. She left the sect 3 months ago and she moved in with her boyfriend."_

"Do we know the boyfriend's whereabouts?" I asked her

 _"He's in Alaska, so his alibi's as solid as a pre-globally-warmed glacier."_

"Garcia, is this sect run by a man named Herbert Sykes?" Spencer asked, before we met up with the others at the jet I pulled Spencer into our room after getting ready, I was a little hot and bothered after the way he kissed me at Garcia's and I needed him, let's just say we were very close to almost being late.

"Wonder boy, yes, it is. How'd you know that?" Garcia asked him

"5 years ago a teenage girl was found dead on the grounds of his compound. It was determined to be an honor killing of sorts. The girl was stoned to death."

"The rocks appear to be the cause of death in Gloria's murder as well." Blake mentioned

"The red flag just got redder." Dave adds

"All right, Dave, you and Blake find out what you can about Gloria Carlyle from the medical examiner. Morgan and Reid, go to the crime scene. JJ, Elizabeth and I will talk to Gloria's family as well as have a chat with Herbert Sykes." Aaron tells us and Spencer rests his arm on my leg, it felt so great not having to hide our relationship anymore.

* * *

"I was, uh, shocked when I heard. Even though Gloria chose to leave the community, her loss will be felt." Herbert tells me, Aaron and JJ

"We spoke to Gloria's parents a little while ago and they said that you had had a fight with Gloria the day that she left the community." Aaron says to him

"This had something to do with your claim of divine heritage?" I asked him

"I am the spiritual leader of my community. As such, I often speak allegorically or in parables."

"But Gloria took the divine heritage business literally." I said to him

"Yes. She dug around in my family history looking for, uh...who knows what. God, Buddha...Zeus."

"We were also told that Gloria was threatened by members of the community when she announced her intention to leave." Aaron says to him

"I have no knowledge of that."

"So the friends she made there weren't told to shun her?" JJ asked and he body language switched from confident to uncomfortable

"Let's talk about the stoning death 5 years ago." Aaron tells him

"Since you seem to know the answers to the questions you're asking, why don't you tell me? Look, the guilty party was sent to prison, where he belongs. What else do you want to know?" Herbert asked

"Reviewing the original case file, you were less than forthcoming in the initial stages of the investigation." Aaron mentioned

"You hired a public relations firm in the wake of the murder." JJ added

"It took me years to build my community. My investment was- is substantial. I was not going to watch it go under because of one tragic incident. I think we're done." He says standing up

"We may have some more questions, so please keep yourself available for the next few days." Aaron tells him and Herbert pulls a card out of his wallet

"The law firm of Gordon, Foxman, and Mendelovich. Not local yokels- Wall Street. Drag my name through the mud on this like you did 5 years ago, and they'll be in touch."

"Mr. Sykes, we're investigating a murder, and I don't speak in parables, so this should be very easy to understand. If you interfere with us in any way, I will see to it that you are charged with and prosecuted for obstruction of justice." Aaron says to him standing up and looking at him

* * *

"JJ, were you able to contact Abby Stafford's family?" Aaron asked her as he taped pictures to the board

"No. They're vacationing somewhere in Europe. We're tracking them down. But I did talk to a friend of hers. She said Abby was a conservative, studious type. No drama. No enemies."

"I just got off the phone with Rossi. The M. E. says the new victim died roughly a week ago. Had the same laceration marks and throat burning, but the wounds weren't anywhere near as severe as Gloria Carlyle's." Morgan tells us walking into the room

"He was still warming to the task." I pointed out

"Well, our unsub definitely has a type. Young, blond, pretty." JJ says

"Now, the elements in common to both murders aren't giving us much. Let's concentrate on the deviations." Aaron says

"Ok. Well, um, Abby was thrown off a cliff. Gloria was entombed." I told him

"The unsub left Abby in her own clothes but changed Gloria into a robe."

"The M. E. found another difference. Apparently Gloria's fingernail polish had been removed by the unsub. Abby Stafford's hadn't been tampered with at all." Morgan adds

"Well, Abby's death was quick and impersonal-off the cliff. No muss, no fuss. But Gloria was slowly crushed. He took his time to make her suffer." JJ inputed

"All the deviations in Gloria's murder involve increased ritual. It's got to be feeding a fantasy of some kind." Aaron says

"It explains why the torture was more intense with Gloria. The ritual fed the fantasy, the fantasy fed the rage." Morgan said

"If that's the case, this guy's evolving fast." JJ mentioned

* * *

"So this guy's killing men now?" The Sheriff asked us

"Parker Mills must have had a hidden or perceived connection to the other victims." Blake tells him

"Or Mills got in the way somehow and had to be killed so the unsub could return to his preferred victim type." Spencer adds

"Then why bother with the cutting and throat burning?" I asked

"Excuse me." a cop said and walked in putting a piece of paper in front of Blake

"Interesting."

"What is it?" Spencer asked her

"Tox report on Abby Stafford. Our conservative, studious girl had cocaine in her system at the time of her death."

* * *

"We're looking for a physically fit male from his late 20s to mid 30s. He's brazen, confident, and organized." Aaron tells the department

"This person may be a moral vigilante. Abby Stafford had drug issues. Gloria Carlyle moved in with her boyfriend. Parker Mills was a sexual deviate." Morgan adds

"Moral vigilantism typically has its roots in repression and guilt. This generally manifests itself in low self-esteem and self-loathing. By punishing others, the unsub may also be punishing himself." Spencer mentioned

He's also literally branding his victims. We're not sure why, but he's likely marking them as his own." Aaron said

"His organizational skills suggest someone who can get and keep a full-time job." Blake tells them

"But the work is likely low level. His impaired social development would not allow him to move very far in the professional world." Rossi inputs

"Consequently, this is someone working in solitude, having minimal interaction with others." JJ pointed out

"And this makes it a challenge to determine how and where this person is choosing his victims." Morgan says

"The two female victims were reserved and studious. Parker Mills lived quietly in the margins of conventional society." Spencer mentioned

"So the killer may frequent or work in locations that attracts this type of person. Uh, places of solitude, contemplation. Museums, gardens and parks, bookstores." I add

"His choice of a city square rather than a remote canyon means he's gaining confidence." Rossi told them

"But the recklessness of killing in such a public space suggests that this confidence may be stemming from a delusion." Morgan said

"He may believe he's in a place and time that makes him invulnerable." Blake added

"And if his delusion is gaining in strength, then his next killing may be riskier and more dramatic. Thank you." Aaron finished

* * *

"I told Dr. Reid he could use my office. There must be 30 books piled up on my desk." The Sheriff tells me and Morgan as he walks in

I chuckled, "Well, that's either some light bedtime reading or he's actually onto something." I said and Morgan gave me a look

"You know, I was thinking about that branding thing. Maybe it's like that book we had to read in school, about the woman with the Scarlet A." The Sheriff brought up

"No, that's unlikely. The Scarlet letter was a badge of shame to be worn in public day after day. Our unsub is killing his victims immediately after the branding." Morgan tells him

"There's something strange going on here." I mention

"Well, that may be the understatement of the week." The Sheriff tells me

"Gloria's vision was extremely poor. Her driver's license specifies she had to wear corrective lenses while operating a vehicle."

"Eyeglass." The Sheriff says

"It says here she wore contact lenses." I tell him

"No contact lenses were found on her body or at the crime scene." Morgan says to me

"The unsub must have taken them out, like he removed her nail polish. But why would he do that?" I asked

"No wristwatch was found at the crime scene either." Morgan said

"Nail polish, wristwatch, contact lenses. What if he was trying to strip her of items that reminded him of the modern era?" I asked him

"It could be part of his delusion. Like changing her into a simple robe. He needed to take Gloria back to a primitive time before he could kill her."

* * *

"Our unsub chose the right role model. Stoughton was the most ruthless of all of the Salem prosecutors." Blake points out

"Our killer's also emulating the methods of execution at the time of the trials. Witches were thrown off cliffs, hung, slowly crushed by rocks." Spencer mentioned

"So the family crest thing, is that his way of honoring the guy?" The sheriff asked

"It's more than that. He may believe he's a direct descendant of Stoughton." Aaron tells him

"Garcia, were you able to run a history yet of the Stoughton family tree?" Spencer asked her

 _"It isn't so much a tree as it is a giant sequoia- branches, twigs, roots, sticks, limbs, pine cones, woodpecker holes. There are literally thousands of Stoughton's descendants out there."_

"Are there any in the Provo or Salt Lake city area?" I asked her

 _"Yeah, there's a handful, but none of them fit the unsub's profile."_

"Can you send me the Stoughtons' ancestry chart?" Spencer asked

 _"Did you hear the part I said about the giant Sequoia? I can send it to you, but unless your laptop screen is the size of a drive-in movie theater-"_

"Send it anyway. We'll print out a hard copy here." Spencer tells her

 _"I'm going to send the side of the tree that migrated westward, and do not say I did not warn you."_

"You're going to need a bigger copy machine." I tell him

* * *

We stand there watching Spencer look at the family tree Garcia sent over, "I've learned to stop asking questions about this guy." The Sheriff tells JJ and we chuckled

"What's up, Spence?" JJ asked him

"There's something strange about this one branch of the family tree. Garcia?"

 _"Talk to me. I am fluent in genius."_ She tells him

"Roy and Becky Danary, they died in 1985, leaving behind a son named William Danary, but there's no record of what happened to him."

 _"The Danarys were Peace Corps workers in Ecuador. They died in a car accident there. And you're right, their kid just sort of vanished. Let me do some digging and I will call you back."_ She says and hung up

"All right, well, we profiled the unsub as delusional. What if Stoughton being a great-great-great-whatever is just part of his delusion?" I asked

"Or the discover of being a direct descendant triggered the delusion." Aaron adds

"He looked into his ancestry." Spencer mentioned

"That would be easy to do here. Salt Lake City has the largest family history library in the world." The Sheriff tells us

"Gloria Carlyle researched Herbert Sykes' ancestry." Aaron says

"Abby Stafford was a bookish college student. Maybe that's where they crossed-at a library." Spencer adds

"JJ, have Garcia get the names of all the employees and volunteers in the Provo and Salt Lake City library system and cross-check those with descendents of William Stoughton." He tells her

* * *

 _"Hey, I have a thing."_ Garcia tells us

"What is it, Garcia?" Aaron asked her

 _"No library employees are direct descendants of William Stoughton. However, there's a volunteer with a fascinating family history there. Leland Duncan, son of Orland and Clara Duncan, Mormon missionaries."_

"But the Duncans aren't part of the Stoughton lineage." Spencer tells her

 _"But, a big kiss to who can guess where they were doing their missionary work in 1985."_

"Ecuador." I pointed out and Spencer smiled at me

 _"Ding, ding, we have a winner."_

"Same time and place as the Peace Corps couple that died and left a son." JJ adds

"So the Duncans adopted the boy and changed his name." Aaron says

 _"I'm sending you a current photo of Leland Duncan along with his home address."_

"Thanks." Aaron tells her

* * *

"I'll call you back, Garcia." Aaron tells her hanging up the phone

"Victim's Charlotte Novak. She's one of the librarians." JJ tells us coming out of the library with the Sheriff

"When was she last seen alive?" Aaron asked her

"Around 3:30. She came to the main circulation desk to put a book into the system, then she went back to Leland's section."

"What was the book?" I asked

"An Illustrated History of Witchcraft and Sorcery."

"That was his lure." Aaron says

"And anyone who took the bait was guilty of being a witch." JJ added

"Where's the book?" Aaron asked

"Got checked out. Yvonne Carpenter." The Sheriff tells him

"All right, we need to find her address and send units there immediately."

* * *

"There's gotta be a secondary location somewhere." JJ points out to Aaron

"I know, but Garcia said that Leland Duncan's adoptive parents never had an address in the area." He tells her, "Garcia."

 _"Talk to me."_

"What was Clara Duncan's maiden name?" He asked her

 _"Andrews. Clara Andrews."_

"Did they ever live in the area?" He asked

 _"I'm working on it. Give me a sec."_ She tells him and the Sheriff walks over to the car

"Yvonne Carpenter and her daughter are both gone. My officer said the apartment showed signs of a struggle."

* * *

 _"Leland's adoptive mother, neither of her parents are still alive. But get this- they owned property that is 2.8 miles from the canyon crime scene."_ Garcia tells us

"Who lives there now?" Aaron asked her

 _"Nobody. It was condemned by the county 8 years ago. As far as I can tell, it's abandoned."_

"All right, send the coordinates to Rossi, Blake, and Morgan." He tells her

 _"Sending it."_

"Thanks." He said

* * *

"So I looked it up. No witches were ever burned at the stake in Salem." JJ tells Rossi as I sat on the couch with Spencer on his lap

"Really?" He asked

"Death by fire was strictly a European thing."

"Moral of the story: Be selective where you practice your witchcraft." He points out and JJ takes a sip of her wine then there's a knock on door

"What, what, what?" She asks and opens the door, "I thought you couldn't come." I see her tell Aaron as he walks in

"Well, Jack got a last-minute sleep-over invitation, so I hope it's ok."

"Yes, of course, of course." She tells him and whispers something then hands him a glass, "Here you go, sir."

"Thank you."

"Uh...I want to thank everybody for doing this with me, and our altar's burning, and I just feel so blessed to have you all here." She tells us and me Spencer, Morgan and Blake stand up walking over to it, "I will start. Uh... This is my mom and dad. I miss them. And this is my cat Simba with his usual bowl of soda pop. He's a weird cat." She said and we laughed, "Ok. Who's next?"

"Uh, ok. Well, uh, this is my sister Roslyn. Ros. She always dreamt that someday she'd live in Paree, so, um...it didn't happen, but I thought this would bring her some happiness." JJ said putting a tiny Eiffel Tower on the alter next to her sisters picture and I put my hand on her shoulder

"Private First Class Darryl Jenson. We lost him during the Tet offensive." Rossi says setting a picture down

"What are the tickets?" Morgan asked him

"Opening day next season, Wrigley, right behind the home dugout. Jenson was a diehard Cubs fan."

"Sweet." Morgan said and the clinked their glasses

"Um... My mom." Blake says putting a picture on there, "She was the one who got me into crossword puzzles-no erasing allowed-which got me into linguistics."

"You said we could bring more than one, right?" Spencer asked Garcia

"Oh, yes. This is a come one, come all altar."

"It's Nikola Tesla. I figured he's probably been inventing things on the other side, so hopefully he'll bring something to us." Spencer said and I out my arm around him and he kissed the top of my head.

"Guess that's me," Morgan said and moved forward, "Ok. I brought... My pops. He was a cigar aficionado, big time. And, actually, Rossi, he was also a huge Cubbies fan, so I was thinking maybe he and private Jenson over there, maybe they could go to the game together." He tells Rossi

"They can sort that out when they get here."

Aaron and I looked at each other and he moved forward putting Haley's picture up there, I smiled at him, no words were needed.

"Elizabeth?" Garcia asked me

"Oh um.." I said and put my picture down, "My nana, her house always smelled of freshed baked cookies and old books, she actually gave me this necklace," I said indicating to the necklace I was wearing, "She said no matter how hard life got, and no matter how much I struggled, this necklace was a piece of her that I would always have with me." I said and looked at Aaron

"Well, I guess this is proof positive that ancestry ain't all bad." Rossi tells us

"How about a toast to the...30 or 40 of us?" Garcia says and we clinked our glasses together then took sips.


	28. Chapter 28

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Over there," Rossi tells me and Spencer, "That's where I saw Carolyn the first time."

"No offense, Rossi, but this place is kind of a dump." Spencer tells him and i smacked his arm

"Spence"

"Oh, back then it wasn't. Back then the biggest names would come here. Creedence, The Eagles, Chicago. It was a Marine bar. They played for us jarheads."

"What was Carolyn doing here?" I asked him

"Waiting for Ringo. Beatlemania was no joke. I mean, it would make the women crazy. She'd write them a letter once a week, begging the band to come visit."

"Did they ever come?" Spencer asked him

"Ringo did, after his divorce. But luckily, Carolyn met me first. But that's how we all became friends." He said and I smiled then the waitress walks over

"Devil honey for Dave, an Arnold Palmer for the kid," She says and I chuckled, "And a rum and coke for the lady." She says setting my drink down and I take a sip

Then I hear Rossi's phone beep, "Oh, on second thought, Helen-" He tells her then looks at us,"It's Garcia."

"So much for a night off." Spencer says

"You better bring us the bill." Rossi tells her

"Ok. That'll be 10 bucks."

"No, you can charge us for the drinks we didn't have." He says

"Everything's marked down until it's all gone." She tells him indicating to the sign

"Oh, you can't close. This place is history."

"Unfortunately, Dave, history doesn't pay the bills." She says

"Marines used to be big business." He told her

"Still are. That's why 3 new bars opened up across the street. What's that thing they say about competition?" She asked

"It breeds success?" Spencer asked her

"It sucks." She tells him

"Well...Keep the change." Rossi tells her

"Thank you, Dave." She tells him and we get up to leave

"I hate to see this place go." Rossi says and I patted his back

* * *

"Beantown has turned into Chokeville. 3 victims, all male, wallets stolen." Garcia tells us

"The unsub uses a garrote to strangle his victims. He strikes at night and there have been no witnesses." Aaron added

"How much did he get?" Rossi asked him

Well, it's odd. Each of the victims, socio-economically, is lower to middle class. It's doubtful there would have been much cash, and there have been no charge attempts on any of the credit cards."

"So the murders might not be about money at all. Taking the wallets could be a forensic countermeasure to delay victim identification." Blake points out

"That could be the sitch with the first two victims, but the latest one, Scott Delfino, he was on the phone with his roommate when he was attacked, call cut out unexpectedly, repeated callbacks went straight to voicemail." Garcia mentioned

"And Delfino's body was found an hour later. Indications were they'd been blitzed." Aaron says

"Which speaks to the killer's prep work but also his desperation. He chose a location to lay in wait but wasn't capable of adapting to a target on the phone." Spencer adds

"That could be arrogance getting in the way and making his organization appear mixed. To me that screams false confidence." JJ said

"Which means that desperation is what's driving him. It's not about the kills, it's about what the murders represent." Morgan says

"He's mission oriented. He doesn't want to kill them, he has to." I inputted

"Which suggests the unsub has no personal connection to his victims." Rossi pointed out

"Except choking as a kill method is extremely personal. He feels each victim take their last breath." Blake tells him

"What if the wallets are a form of depersonalization? He's stripping his victims of their identities." Morgan say

"Which means he may feel stripped of his own. If the wallets are trophies, he could be seeking recognition for his work." Spencer adds

"And he may not stop killing until he gets that recognition. Let's go." Aaron tells us

* * *

"Ben Harrison?" JJ asked as me, her and Spencer walked up to him

"You the FBI?"

"I'm Agent Jennifer Jareau. This is Dr. Spencer Reid and Agent Elizabeth Hotchner." She introduced, "You know, we didn't have to do this here. We could have talked back at our field office."

"I wanted to see where it happened. I was talking to him one second and then the... That's it. Gone. Right here Scotty's story ends." Ben says to us

"Scotty must have been coming from the east, otherwise the unsub's position would have left him exposed." Spencer points out

"But?" I asked him

"That Avenue offers 3 different directions to head in lieu of this alleyway, so how did the unsub know Scotty was gonna choose this particular one?"

"You told the police he met a girl last night. So walking home this way wouldn't be part of his regular routine, right?" JJ asked Ben

"No."

"When planning a blitz attack with varying avenues of approach, what do you do?" Spencer asked

"Eliminate the variable. Strike as close as you can to the point of origin or destination." I tell him

"But Scotty was still miles away from home."

"The woman he met lives nearby. Do you have any idea who she was?" JJ asked Ben

"Only that her name is Ashley and she likes bunnies." He said and the three of us exchanged looks, "Don't ask. It's the last thing he said to me."

"Do you know where they met?" I asked him

"I'm not sure. We were watching the Pats came at the Purple Shamrock, and then I had to bail. I have to pick up my girlfriend from Logan, so..."

"Do you think Scotty stayed there, or would he have ventured elsewhere after you left?" Spencer asked

"I don't know. There's so many bars in the area. Scotty had a tendency to...wander."

"With women, you mean?" JJ asked him

"Let's just say it wasn't often that he slept alone."

"Did that rub anyone the wrong way?" I asked

"Not anyone that knew him. He was too good a guy not to like."

* * *

"You're sure you didn't catch a glimpse of him?" I asked Colin

"Just movement in the background. I tried to warn Jake, but..."

"Did Jake see who was there? Did he say anything to you?" I asked

"He saw him. I mean, the guy was right there. And Jake was so scared. I can't get his face out of my head." He says putting his head down

"It's ok. I just have one more question. Do you think you can handle that?"

"Yeah."

"Ok. Did Jake seem like he recognized the man in his house?" I asked him

"Yeah. Yeah, he knew him. And I could see it on his face. But he didn't say who it was."

"Just because you recognize someone doesn't necessarily mean you know them. The man could simply be someone that Jake routinely passes on the street. Whoever he is, we're gonna get him. Ok?" I reassured him

"Ok." He tells me and I stand up, "Agent Hotchner? Have you ever been shot?" he asked me

"Why do you ask?"

"I just can't stop thinking about how it felt. Did it hurt a lot when Jake died?"

"You don't need to worry about that. Jake wasn't shot." I told him

"Then what was the flash?"

* * *

"The unsub we're looking for is a dangerous voyeur who feeds off the thrill of knowing his victims can't see him." Aaron tells the other agents

"Typically voyeurs are nonviolent and content to remain bystanders. This one is different. He's on a mission that includes taking action." Spencer added

"And in that mission he didn't hesitate to kill a teenage boy. Anyone who stands between him and his goal is at risk." Aaron says

"We believe he's documenting his work. He's taking pictures and collects personal connections to his victims- their wallets and their hair." Blake points out

"It's important to him to have proof of what he's doing." Rossi mentioned

"Voyeurs like to create fantasies in their heads of what the objects of their obsession should be like." Morgan added

"He creates a character identity instead of a reality. And when a person steps outside of the parameters that the unsub has set for them, he strikes." I point out

"This unsub appears to be triggered by males acting on what he perceives to be character flaws. Seemingly innocuous infractions to us are magnified in the unsub's psychosis.

"Based on the planning and sophistication of the kills, we believe that he's in his late 30s or 40s." Aaron tells them

"The geographic profile tells us this unsub is not only dumping his victims downtown, he's hunting there, too." Spencer says

"So this is where we need to redouble our efforts. Go building to building, door to door. This guy's a fly on the wall. He's able to learn secrets without anyone realizing he's there." Morgan tells them

"He'll have a job that involves very little social interaction, but it puts him in a position where he can observe others unnoticed." Blake points out

"So we should look at service workers, groundskeepers, anyone paid to be invisible." I add

"And we need to move quickly. This unsub is approaching some sort of perceived deadline. The closer it gets, the more erratic and dangerous he'll become. Thank you." Aaron finished

* * *

"Talk to me, baby girl." Morgan says to Garcia

 _"You better get ready to get down on one knee, 'cause this B.G. boo just earned herself one hell of a diamond."_ She says and I snorted

"What'd you find?" Spencer asked

 _"Scott Delfino's phone is a Hotch mess-hot mess-you know what I mean. Data scrambled like a Denver omelet on a Sunday morning. I can feel those smoldering get-to-the-point stares from here. So I will. If the name Ashley is on Scott's phone, I can't find it."_

"Penelope, this is sounding more like cubic zirconia." Morgan tells her and I shake my head

 _"Bite your pretty tongue. I didn't stop at the first rejection. I did what you guys did. I profiled the guy. Scotty is a ladies' man. Gets a lot of names and numbers, gotta keep track of them all. What's a player to do, playa?"_ She asked

"He gave her a nickname." Morgan pointed out

 _"Baby girl's already taken. But Bunny wasn't."_

"Tell me you got a number." He tells her

 _"Of course I did. Now so do you. Sending it now."_

* * *

 _"Her name is Ashley Fouladi. She's a grad student at B. C. Bills, including rent and phone, are in her father's name. That's why we couldn't find her."_ Garcia tells me, Morgan, JJ and Spencer

"You got an address, Garcia?" Morgan asked her

 _"Yeah. 2410 Boylston Street._

"Boylston Street. That's where Colin Kirkland lives, the boy who witnessed the attack on Jake Preston." I pointed out

 _"Right, they're neighbors. Same building, different floor."_ Garcia tells me

"Ashley wasn't planned, but Scotty, the guy she was with, was." Spencer mentioned

"Right. And it wasn't Ashley's neighbor Colin who s targeted, it was Jake, the boy he was with." JJ adds

"This unsub isn't stalking the people he kills, he's stalking the people that live in that building. All of hs victims must have interacted with someone residing there." Morgan say

"So, how does he choose who he kills?" Garcia asked

"All right, well, let's look at it, Ashley comes home with a womanizer who the unsub then killed. Colin was playing with a video game he wasn't supposed to have. The unsub killed the boy who gave it to him." JJ said

"He's targeting bad influences." I concluded

"He sees himself as a protector." Spencer adds

"Or as a parent. He's keeping the people under his own roof safe." JJ tells us

"Which mean he most likely suffered a past loss." Spencer says

"One he blames himself for." JJ included

* * *

 _"His name is Tanner Johnson and life has not been kind."_ Garcia tells us

"He lost a child, didn't he?" JJ asked her

 _"Yeah. Last year. A 10-year-old son Jeremy. According to reports, Jeremy was playing with a friend, they were like fake wrestling, when Tanner, a free-lance photographer/ slash/nighttimdoore got a call, left the room to take it. When he returned, his son was unconscious. The friend was trying to revive him from a choke hold gone horribly wrong."_ She says and I feel my heart break

"His son was strangled. That's why he uses a garrote." Aaron points out

 _"Jeremy was on life support for a few days, but he died._

"Tanner blames himself. He stopped watching for a minute and he lost his son." Blake adds

"He hasn't stopped watching since. The grief must have consumed him." Rossi says

"That's a hell of a stressor, but what triggered the murders?" I asked

"Garcia, what happened to Tanner's wife? Did the marriage survive?" Aaron asked her

 _"Uh... No. She kicked him out two months ago, right before the killing started."_

"So he loses his child and then his wife and home. It's enough to make anyone unstable." JJ mentioned

"Add guilt to that and it's all too much. He dissociated." Blake says

"Paternal transference. He claimed the residents of his apartment building as his family." Rossi said

"But we're missing something. Why is he documenting all of this?" Aaron asked us

"We profiled he's running out of time. The book must have something to do with that." JJ says

 _"Oh, snap."_

"What is it, Garcia?" Aaron asked her

 _"Hannah, Tanner's wife, she's pregnant."_

"That's who he's watching online." I said

"Garcia, when is the baby due?" Rossi asked

 _"The baby's due... Yesterday."_

* * *

 _"He's not gonna hurt Hannah or the baby, will he?"_ Garcia asked as me, JJ, and Blake make our way to Hannah's house

"Not while she's pregnant. He has to keep the child safe." Blake tells her

 _"And after?"_

* * *

 _"Tanner thinks his book proves he can take care of the baby."_ Rossi says

 _"And if she rejects that, he could unravel even more."_ Aaron added

 _"Uh-huh, and what happens then?"_ Garcia asked

"No one will be safe, not even the child." I said

* * *

Me, JJ and Blake arrive at the house and hear Hannah groaning inside so we make our way around back.

"Ohh! Aah!"

"Hannah, I need you to breathe deeply. Breathe deeply." We hear Spencer say and we see him put on gloves kneeling in front of Hannah

"Oh, my God." JJ says and I reach for my radio

"Hannah, I need you to start pushing..." Spencer tells her

"We need medics to Hannah Johnson's residence right away." I tell Aaron and Rossi

 _"They're already on the way."_ Rossi says

* * *

"Don't worry, Hannah, your baby's doing fine, but you need to keep pushing. Ready?" We hear Spencer tell her as we make our way into the house.

"Medics on the way." Blake tells him

"We can't risk moving her now. We'll have to deliver the baby here." He says, me and JJ move over to Hannah to support her

"Oh, God!"

"Squeeze their hand as hard as you can and push." Spencer tells her and looks at me, I smile and he goes back to what he's doing

"Oh, I can't. I can't."

"Yes, you can. You're doing great." I reassured her

"You're doing great. I can see the head. Keep pushing. Keep pushing. Keep pushing, all right? Keep pushing." He coached her

* * *

Spencer stands there holding the baby while the medic wipes the baby down, I look at him as he hands the baby to Hannah, I put my arm around his waist and rest my head on his shoulder and he kissed the top of my head.

* * *

"And to Dr. Spencer Reid, who may be adding M.D. to an already impressive list of credentials." Aaron says to him raising his glass

"And to Spencer Johnson, may he prove to be the child prodigy like his namesake." Morgan adds

"How on earth did you know what to do?" Blake asked him

"When JJ was pregnant with Henry, I memorized the delivery manuals just in case she went into labor in the field. I have to admit the practical application did not quite live up to the theory." He said and I laughed, he put his arm around me and JJ put a hand on his shoulder

"No, you were great, Spence." She said to him

"Thanks. This night is not about me, though. To Dave Rossi."

"Oh, I still can't believe you guys did this." Rossi tells us

"We wanted to make sure you had one last proper goodbye." Spencer tells him

"Mm-hmm. And I may or may not have posted on the Quantico message boards that all the drinks are on you tonight." Garcia adds

"And they are indeed, thank you very much." He tells her

"Um, but that's not all. I don't believe that, uh, any of the members of this team have heard you sing." Aaron tells him indicating to the stage

"Next up is David Rossi." Helen announces over the mic

"That was intentional." Rossi tells Aaron

"Next up is David Rossi." He said to him

"Dave, get your ass up here and sing us out already." Helen tells him

"And, look, it's in your key." Aaron says to him as he walks up to the stage

"Yeah, Q squared."

"Whoo!" I shouted after him and the music starts

"Alrighty. To all the great memories that have happened within these walls, if you think I'm doing this without backup, you're nuts. Come on, JJ, Reid, let's go." He says and Spence grabbed my hand

"What? Spence no!" I protested but he pulled me up anyways with JJ and Garcia

"What time is it?" Garcia asked

It's 9 o'clock on a Saturday the regular crowd shuffles in there's an old man sitting next to me makin' love to his tonic and gin JJ motions for Morgan and he comes up on stage

"Blake!" Rossi yells

"Everybody sing!"

He says, son, you can play me a memory I'm not really sure how it goes But it's sad and sweet and I knew it complete when I wore a younger man's clothes la la la la la la la la la la la la

* * *

Me and Spencer get back to our place and I sighed after taking off my shoes, I feel Spencer wrap his arms around my waist from behind me and kissed my neck, I leaned my head back giving him more access.

"What would you think about kids?" He asked me and I faced him

"I would love to have kids someday with you." I told him and he kissed me, "But first I'd want us to be married." I tell him and he smiles

"Sounds like a plan." He said and kissed me again, "But for right now.." He says and lifts me up so I wrap my legs around his waist, "...We should have some fun practicing."

"Are you trying to seduce Dr. Reid?" I asked him and he walks us to the bedroom

"Always"


	29. Chapter 29

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **A/N: Over 4,000 views?! Holy crap! Thank you everyone who is reading and liking this story, I know I thank you a lot in my chapters but seriously from the bottom of my heart thank you. I hope I continue to to make you guys happy. Now on another note this chapter is going to be mainly JJ's POV but it will go to everyone else as well because this..is...200! (get it? kind of like this...is...SPARTA!...okay I won't do that again) Enjoy**

 **P.S. I hope no one minds but I tweaked this just a little bit, you'll see why.**

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I walked out of the FBI building when I saw JJ standing there holding her phone, I was about to call for her when I saw someone walk up behind her.

"JJ!" I yelled, she looked at me for a brief moment but was grabbed by the person, I couldn't see their face, I started to run after her but the next thing I knew something hit me on the back of the head and I blacked out.

 **JJ POV...**

Everything happened so fast, one minute I was calling Matt, then I hear Elizabeth yell my name, and the next thing I knew someone grabs me from behind and covers my mouth.

I get dragged somewhere with a hood over my head and my mouth gagged, placed in a chair and handcuffed, when the hood comes off I see him, I struggled in the chair wanting to rip his head off and he kneels down next to me sticking a needle in my arm then suddenly my body unwillingly relaxes.

"If I were you, I would save my strength." He says and I get disoriented again, "Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh..."

 _ **3 Years ago...**_

"Chief Strauss." I greeted her as I get out of the Humvee

"Agent Jareau. Welcome. I've been ordered to brief you on your new assignment. You'll be splitting time between here and D. C. " She says and we start walking

"So I haven't been drafted?" I asked her

"Your transfer to State was a necessary backstop. This mission is code word classified. Even the personnel reporting to you will not know the nature of your work. You need to change."

"You just lost us a valuable asset." I hear a guy tell another person

"Me? That terrorist got hurt trying to escape. You were right."

"He talked?" The guy asked him

"Yeah, well, he started to, and then this." the other guy said and left

"Agent Jareau, this is Mateo Cruz." Strauss introduced, "He's heading up the task force.

"All right, follow me." Cruz says and we walk into the tent, "Hastings, do you have a minute?"

"Was this man tortured to death?" I asked them looking at the deceased man in the cot

"This man is al-Qaeda operative Savin Mubari. He was one of Bin Laden's couriers, and, yes, he was." Hastings says to me and looks at me, "Didn't anyone tell you to get changed?"

"Hastings, why don't you say hello to SSA Jennifer Jareau from the BAU. She'll be handling female interrogations." Cruz tells him

"We don't need a profile if we know we're looking for Bin Laden."

"I'm not a profiler. I was the communications liaison." I informed him

"Hell, then why is she even here?"

"Stand down. Jareau is a proven mediator." Strauss warns him

"Don't get comfortable. This places changes people. I can't imagine what it'll do to someone like you." Hastings says and leaves

"Arrogance aside, Hastings is CIA elite, so..." Cruz starts to say

"How can you say that?" I asked interrupting him, "He just tortured a man to death."

"The Bureau and the CIA handle things differently, but... Hastings didn't do this." He says and we walk out of the tent and I see 4 soldiers escorting a woman

"Who's the woman?" I asked Cruz

"That's Nadia, Mubari's wife."

"Does she know anything?" I asked

"It's up to you to find out." Strauss tells me

"Agent Jareau, this is Tivon Askari, our interpreter." Cruz says introducing us and I shake his hand, "You'll be working closely with him on this assignment."

"Very nice to meet you."

* * *

 _ **Present...**_

 **Elizabeth POV...**

The EMT gets done checking out my head when Morgan and Spencer pull up, Spencer runs over to me and engulfs me in a hug which I return.

"I'm so glad you're okay." He says into my hair

"I'm sorry."

He pulls back and puts his hands on my face, "Don't be sorry." He said and kissed me on the head.

"We need to get started." I tell him standing up but he puts his hands on my shoulder making me sit down again

"Whoa you're not doing anything but going back into the office and take it easy."

"No I-I have help you guys in finding JJ." I tell him and tried to get up again.

"No Liz you can't, you have a mild concussion and you need to relax." He says and tears formed in my eyes

"Sh-she was right there, I called to her and she looked but.." I tell him looking at where JJ was grabbed, "She was right there and I couldn't get to her." I said and the tears fell as Spencer pulled me into a hug and I cried into his shoulder

"I know sweetie" He says running my back, "I'm just thankful they didn't take you too."

"I have to help her Spence" I tell him

"You will, and how you can do that is by helping Garcia." He says and I nodded my head against his shoulder.

* * *

"JJ's car's still parked in the lot, Morgan and Reid are on their way." Garcia tells Aaron and Will as they walk into the round room

"Are you okay?" Aaron asked me and I nodded my head as I sat in the chair across from Garcia

"Find Matt Cruz. He'll know what's going on." Will tells her

"Section Chief Matt Cruz?" I asked him

"Mm-hmm."

"Grant, it's Garcia. I need to speak to Matt Cruz." Garcia says into her earpiece

"That's why I couldn't tell you on the phone. JJ made me promise." Will tells Aaron

"Will, I'm so sorry, she was right there and I..."

"Hey it's alright," He says cutting me off and hugging me, "It's not your fault." He says and I nod my head even though the guilt was eating me up

"Yeah, I know what time it is. Get him now." I hear Garcia say

"Well, she was afraid someone was listening, but what does Cruz have to do with JJ's disappearance?" Aaron asked him

"They worked together at the State department."

"Neither one has mentioned that." Aaron points out

"They couldn't. Their assignment was classified."

"No, past tense. JJ worked at the State department years ago." Garcia tells Will

"I thought that, too, until Cruz was assigned here and the secret calls and texts started again. Look, all I know is, is JJ said if anything every happened to her that Cruz would know what to do."

"Sir, there's a problem." Anderson said walking into the room, "Chief Cruz isn't answering and GPS on his mobile isn't transmitting."

"That's the same thing as JJ." Garcia says and I close my eyes

"Garcia, have Rossi and Blake check out Cruz's house, and, Anderson, put Agent Jareau's family in protective custody." He says to him and they both left, "This is SSA Hotchner with the BAU. I need to speak to the Director." Aaron says leaving the room

* * *

 **JJ POV...**

I hear the door open as I sit there with my head down

"Uhh! Ohh... Mm... Aah!" I hear someone say and Askari moved my head to face the other person, it's Matt

"They're trying to access integrity! We can't let them get our codes!" He tells me and one guy punched him in the gut

"You have forgotten. I know exactly how to get what I want." Askari told me and the men come over uncuffing my hands from the chair before handcuffing them to another chain and they raised my arms up

* * *

"I'm trying. I'm trying-I'm trying to pull data off of JJ's phone, but it's like level 9 security. It would make Snowden weep." Garcia says to the others as they walk into the room, Spencer walks over to me and puts his hands on my shoulders, I put my one hand on his and and looked at him, I could tell by his eyes that he was asking if I was okay, I nodded my head and looked back at Garcia

"What about cell phone records?" Blake asked her

"Encrypted. JJ's and Cruz's."

"That's not surprising if they work for the State department." Rossi points out

"But if that assignment was a backstop, then JJ's transfer as D.O.D. Liaison was her cover." I mentioned

"So what was she really doing that year?" Spencer asked

"That's the first question Hotch is gonna ask. Strauss was pressured by the Executive branch to push JJ's transfer through in 2010, so she would have known the reason why." Morgan answered

"Any assignment Strauss authorized would be archived in the SCIF." Spencer tells him

"That facility is code word classified." Garcia says

"Ok, but Anderson can get you in." I tell her

"He archives those reports. Blake, Rossi, JJ couldn't have used the SCIF without drawing attention. She probably has it fox holed right here in the BAU. We just need to find it." Morgan said

"And what are you not telling us?" Blake asked him

"Whoever took Cruz and JJ is highly trained and highly organized. Justice, Defense, and State- they wouldn't be on edge like this if this was a simple matter of two missing agents."

"Is Hotch worried that the recovery won't be made a priority?" Rossi asked

"It's our job to find the leverage that assures it is. Let's get it done."

"Yeah. Yeah." Garcia says and we all leave the room, Spencer protested but I told him I was fine, which I was a little bit, not fully but i was getting there.

* * *

 **JJ POV...**

They put a rag over my face and were pouring water on it, I hung there chocking and gagging as they continued, finally thwey stopped and took the rag off then Askari grabbed my face

"The sooner you give me the security codes, the sooner this can end. Say yes if you understand." He tells me and I bit his thumb

"Aah! Aah!"

 _ **November 2010**_

"What the hell is going on?" I asked them as I walked into the place Nadia was held

"She just went crazy on me. I don't know where it came from." Askari tells me and Nadia continued sobbing

"Where's the doll?" I asked him

"What doll?"

"The doll. We need to find the doll. It's ok. Calm down." I tell her, "Where is the doll?"

"It was on the ground outside." Hastings tells me walking into the room, he kneels in front of Nadia handing her the doll and speaks to her in Urdu

"Translate, please." I say to him

"Me?"

"That was your first step at developing rapport. We need to build on that." I tell him and he nods at Askari to leave, "My name is Jennifer. This is Michael." I tell her and Hastings translates, "Was that your child's?" I asked and she nodded, "Where is she?"

"Quetta." Nadia says

"She's in Pakistan." Hastings says to me

"Ok, uh, tell her if she gives us the names of the men that dealt with her husband, we'll reunite her with her daughter." I tell him

"We can't tell her that. Ok, we can, but we can't actually do it. Jareau... You understand, we can't launch a mission to rescue one prisoner's daughter. Right?" He asked me

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Most of the files are kept on hard copy to prevent digital espionage." Spencer tells Garcia as we enter the archives of the SCIF

"Ok. Good thing one of us reads 20,000 words per minute. Time to get my spy face on." She says going over to the computer as me and Spencer each opened a cabinet.

"You know this may be inappropriate right now but it's kind of hot you being all spy mode." I whisper to Spencer as I look into the cabinet I opened

"Oh really?" He asked

"Mmhmm"

"Well when this is done maybe we can-"

"Ok I can hear the two of you and Elizabeth is right totes not the time for this you horny teenagers." Garcia tells us cutting Spencer off, we both smirked and continued what we were doing.

* * *

"Integrity." I hear Spencer say and I looked at him

"What?"

"Cross-reference keyword "Integrity" against Middle East operations dating back to 2010. Focus specifically on military action taken against Osama Bin Laden and/or al-Qaeda." He tells Garcia

"Now we're talkin'." She says and I over her shoulder, "Whoa."

"What did you find?" Spencer asked her and he walked over

"A ghost file in a ghost folder on a ghost server that nobody wants me to know about. I'll have to resurrect some gigabytes."

* * *

"Reid, Elizabeth" Garcia says and we both looked over at her and the computer.

"Why was JJ in the Middle East?" Spencer asked

"And what were Cruz and Strauss doing there?" Garcia asked

* * *

 **JJ POV...**

 _ **December 2010**_

"But she's already given us the names of two high-level terrorists. To assure her family's safety, she'll be even more willing to cooperate." I tell Strauss, Cruz and Hastings

"We can't risk U.S. casualties trying to save a terrorist's daughter." Hastings says

"Well, she was married to one, but Nadia is a mother first." I tell him, "Look, she's clutching that doll as if her life depends on it. We put her daughter in her arms instead, she'll tell us everything."

"Agent Jareau has a valid point. The child's definitely her Achilles heel." Cruz says to Strauss agreeing with me

"What if she's already given us everything? Two terrorists her husband knew, OK. But neither provided tangible leads to OBL. She could be stalling." Hastings said

"And what if she's not? What if she has one more name that gets us Bin Laden?" I asked

"Well, that's a risk worth taking." Cruz said

"OK, I'll contact secretary Jackson." Strauss says and leaves

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

 _"According to Interpol data, Askari is as bad as they get. Highly educated member of the Republican Guard caught torturing POWs off the clock for fun. I'm sending you his profile now."_ Emily tells us via video chat

"So this is who has JJ?" Garcia asked

"His name speaks volumes. Tivon means "student of nature," yet Askari means soldier." Blake tells us

"Askari's methods appear well documented. He's organized, he's meticulous. He typically spends 24 hours with his subjects before they break." Aaron tells us

"They've had Cruz at least that long." Spencer adds

"It looks like this guy uses most of the standard torture techniques." I mentioned

"He even keeps his ritual to an established timeline, a so-called perfect methodology evolved through years of practice." Rossi says

"No sexual torture. Maybe he has lines he doesn't cross." Blake inputted

""Typically, professional torturers are driven by a false sense of moral superiority. They don't derive sexual pleasure from the cruelty they inflict." Spencer informed us

"But Askari isn't just a torturer. He's a sadistic serial killer." Aaron tells him

"And they love getting off." Rossi adds

 _"Guys, I may have two more victims we can attribute to Askari. Savin Mubari and his wife Nadia. He was a known confidant to bin Laden's. Both were at the camp where JJ worked."_ Emily tells us

"Then JJ would have been assigned to interrogate Nadia. Do we know what happened to her?" Aaron asked

"M. O. matches all of Askari's victims except for one thing. She was raped."

"Oh my god." I said and Spencer put a hand on my shoulder giving it a light squeeze

"So what was different about her?" Blake asked

"Maybe she lasted the longest. If his ritual dictates a specific timeline, any new aspect would fall later in his routine." Spencer answered her

"So the longer JJ holds out, the greater the likelihood that'll happen to her." I said and felt sick to my stomach

"So how much time does JJ have?" Garcia asked

"A few hours." Aaron says

* * *

 **JJ POV...**

"Uhh!" Matt groans as they take him down and start dragging him away

"No, no, no, what are you doing?" I asked Askari but he just smiled at me

"It's ok." Matt tells me as they drag him into another room

"You son of a bitch!"

"It's ok." Matt says again

"You have 5 seconds to give me what I want. 5..." Askari tells me, "4..."

"You kill him, your plan is ruined!" I yell at him

"3"

"Stop counting!"

"2"

"Please!"

"1..."

"No." I cried and there's a gunshot, "No!" I yell and put my head down, the door opens and a man walks out

"Let her down." Askari tells him and I'm dropped to the floor crying.

* * *

 _ **Feburary 2011**_

"You don't have to come." I tell Hastings and Cruz

"We know." Hastings says

"This is gonna destroy her." I said

"It isn't your fault." Cruz told me

"Like hell. I was the one who said we should go get her daughter." I point out and we enter the room Nadia is in, "Nadia?" I asked, there wasn't an answer, "Nadia?" I tried again and Cruz turns on his flashlight, Nadia is laying on the bed, dead. I cover my mouth and make my way out of the room and throw up.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

 _"When war broke out, it looks like Askari's talents were recruited by the regime to break potential informants as well as captured U. S. troops."_ Emily says

"So Askari works for the highest bidder." Aaron points out

"How does a guy who tortured U.S. soldiers get drafted to our side?" Morgan asked

"Wait, I might know that. I uploaded that ghost file to my private cloud server. The order was given by chief Cruz."

"Why would Cruz enlist a man like Askari?" I asked

"He needed a high-ranking partner to put him in position." Spencer answered

"So what are we saying, Cruz and Askari were working together?" Rossi asks him

"Then JJ's in more danger than we thought."

* * *

 _ **March 2011**_

"Hey, " Cruz said walking into the tent, "What's wrong with you?" He asked me

"Nothing's wrong. I'm pregnant."

"Is that a good thing?" He asked

"Yeah. Yeah, Will and I have been trying. It's just..." I said rubbing my hands on my face, "I never imagined finding out about it here."

"Well, then...Congratulations." He says and hug me

"Jareau." Hastings says walking into the tent, "There's a call for you from BAU. Some kind of emergency involving Emily?" He tells me and my smile fades and I rushed out of the tent, "Who's Emily?"

* * *

 _ **Present**_

I laid on the floor cold and shivering when I see the door open and Emily walked in coming over to me, "JJ. God, you're freezing."

"Emily. How did you find me?" I asked her

"It doesn't matter."

"It's taking everything. I can't... I think I might break." I tell her and her voice changed

"You have to break."

"No, I..." I started to say then Emily disappeared and Matt was there

"This has to end." He tells me

"Matt...How did you-I thought you-I thought you were dead." I tell him

"I know. They're trying to break you."

"I... I must be seeing things." I pointed out

"You have to break. You can't take much more of this." He says to me

"No..."

"The time has come to give up your security codes." He said

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Cruz never officially put his name in for section chief." Spencer tells us coming back into the round room

"Well, somebody did." Aaron mentioned

"Or he pulled strings, called in favors to get closer to JJ." Rossi points out

"Emily, you saw JJ during this time. Did she ever mention Cruz or details of the investigation?" Aaron asked her

"JJ suspected a double agent. She could have been talking about Cruz."

"If Cruz is working with Askari, why take JJ? His clearance level is higher than hers." Spencer says

"At Interpol, our most sensitive information requires two ranking agents to gain access." Emily tells us

"Maybe the Integrity systems require the same." Spencer adds

"But when agents are compromised, their security privileges are revoked. JJ's codes shouldn't work." I said

"If he knew what he was doing, he could reroute the system updates that would render their security codes useless." Garcia inputted

Where would he have to do to do that?" Morgan asked her

"Straight to the source. He'd have to hard-line into the servers, but they're scattered all over the country."

"It would be difficult to transport JJ and keep to Askari's timeline. He must have taken her someplace local." Rossi brought up

We need to figure out which server they've hacked." Aaron tells us

* * *

 **JJ POV...**

I stared at the computer that was put in front of me, I couldn't do it, I can't give them this

"It's ok. It's ok." Matt reassures me and I look at him then back at the computer and I type in my code and the one guy takes the computer

"Codes confirmed. Now we just need the second user."

"I guess we don't need you anymore." Askari says cocking his gun

"You hurt her, you'll never get my codes. Ever." Matt tells him

* * *

"Welcome back." Askari greets me as I get out of the Humvee

"Thank you."

"We're getting nowhere on your inside man theory." Cruz tells me

"It's because we've been looking in the wrong place."

"Where should we be looking?" He asked

"Ops." I tell them and they stop and look at me

"You think the double agent's one of us?" Cruz asked

"It would be the perfect infiltration plan." Hastings points out

"It's the only way the extraction of Nadia's daughter would have been compromised. The mission was need to know."

"What are you proposing?" Cruz asked me

"I'm not proposing anything. We've been authorized to use an off-base location for enhanced interrogation of our own people."

* * *

"I can't believe Strauss signed off on this." Hastings says to me as we ride in the armoured truck through the desert

"She didn't. Jackson did."

"You went over Strauss? I didn't think you had it in you." He says

"Too many people have died for us." I tell him and there's an explosion that rocks the truck, my ears are ringing and everything is muffled, I look over at Hastings who has blood coming from his mouth, "Hastings!" I yelled shaking him and gunfire ensues.

Just then I see a man with an army vest on go around the back side of the truck in front of us towards Matt, I quickly try to make my way out of the vehicle, grab my gun and shoot at him, two other men come grab him and I fall to the ground and black out

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"What have you got, Garcia?" Aaron asked her as we all rejoin her in the round room

"I found the relevant servers."

"How many were there?" Spencer asked

"D. C. area, 6."

"We need to narrow it down." Blake tells her

"We can ping the servers to see who's hard-lined in. But the second we start knocking, FBI data security is gonna know. It's not gonna be a big leap to figure out why we're doing this."

"We won't be here when they do." Morgan says

"Ok. I'm going in." She says and starts typing. "It's not working. None of the servers are showing any active hard-lines."

"Then we're back to square one." Rossi stated

"No, no. We don't have time for that. It's already been 24 hours." Garcia says and I put my hand on her shoulder

"JJ's beaming out of one of the sites. We'll work our way down the list." Aaron tells her and we leave the room

"Ok, sir, I'm sending coordinates now."

We make our way out and Spencer takes a hold of my hand, "Liz.."

"Spence don't I will forgive myself if I can't get her out of there." I tell him and he sighed.

"Stay by me."

"Always" I told him and we joined the others

* * *

 **JJ POV...**

I jerk awake disoriented and Matt is standing by me while I lay there in a bed in the medic tent, "What happened?" I asked him

"The convoy was attacked."

"Hastings?" I asked

"Taken, by Askari's men." He says and paused, "There's something else. Uh..."

I look at his face and quickly realized what he was going to say, "No. No..." I said and put my hand on my stomach, "No."

"I'm so sorry." He tells me and I cry holding my stomach

* * *

"Your code now, or this time she loses more than her baby." Askari tells Matt and I realized something

"Go to hell." Matt tells him

"Your code!"

"Did you tell him I was pregnant?" I asked Matt

"Of course not. I never told anyone."

"It's enough. Come out." I said out loud

"Who are you talking to?" Askari asked me

"Not to you, to your boss. Come out and face me, you coward." I yell and the door opens, it Hastings

* * *

"How did you know?" Hastings asked me

"Askari couldn't possibly know that I was pregnant. I didn't tell anyone, not even my husband. I only told Matt, right before you came and gave me that message from the BAU. How long were you listening before you approached?" I asked him, "The Humvee attack proved I was right about an inside man."

"And look what it cost you." Hastings says to me

"You can threaten to kill me. Matt won't give you what you want."

"She's right." Askari tells him

"Don't I know it." Hastings says and pulls the chains lifting me up again, "But I also know you, Matt. And what line you won't let me cross. Jareau is your Achilles heel. And I don't blame you. She is an attractive woman." Hastings tells him grabbing my hair

"Don't touch to her, you sick son of a bitch!" Matt yells at him

"No more games. I want Integrity. She's the price."

"No. No." I said

"Maybe...I can make you one. Another one." Hastings tells me putting his hand on my stomach

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

 _"JJ must have logged in with a panic sequence that triggered a silent alarm. It's pretty standard protocol. Enter your security codes backwards and a preset alarm is activated, in this case, Blackbird."_ Garcia tells us over the phone in the SUV, _"Oh, God, JJ sent that alert 30 minutes ago. They must have looped the system. That's why I couldn't read any hard-lines."_

"Which of the servers send the message?" Aaron asked her

 _"Um..._

 _"Hands where we can see them."_

 _"What-what-whoa, whoa. Whoa. Utherlay oadchurchbray. Utherlay oadchurchbray."_

"You don't need to be a linguist to recognize pig Latin." Blake points out

"Luther and Broadchurch is the location of Cramer Industries. It's a research and development company." Spencer said from next to me

 _"R and D-that's gotta be a front for clandestine operations."_ Morgan added

 _"Hang on."_ Aaron says and I see their SUV turn around

* * *

 **JJ POV...**

"Take your time, Matt." Hastings tells him as he starts undoing my shirt, "I've been thinking about this for years."

"Matt, don't. I'm fine. I'm fine." I tell him as Hastings goes for my pants, "I'm fine."

"Ok, ok, that's it. Just stop! I'll do it. Just stop." Matt tells him and types in his code

"We're in. It worked." THe guy tells Hastings

"Start with base security protocols and covert deployments."

"Now that we have access..." Askari says and cocks his gun but just then the lights went out and came back on

"I'll call for helo extraction. Tell the men to meet me upstairs." He says to Askari, "You know what to do." then he goes over to the computer

"We don't have it all." the guy tells him

"We have enough." Hastings says and leaves the room, Askari walks over to the guy and slits his throat

 **Elizabeth POV...**

Me, Spencer and Morgan make our way down the hall and see Hastings and two men with him.

"It's Hastings." I said

"I don't see Askari." Spencer adds

"Hastings!" Morgan yells at him and they start shooting at us, Spencer quickly pushes me aside as we take cover and start firing back

* * *

 **JJ POV...**

Askari walks over to Matt and stabs him, "Stop! No!" I yelled at him

"Thank you, Matt." Askari tells him then walks behind him and drops his chains and Matt falls to the ground groaning

"Matt..." I said and Askari walks over to me, "No... No." I pleaded and there was a gunshot, Askari fell to the ground and I see Hotch and Emily, "Emily." I said relieved, "I knew they'd call you. I knew it." She uncuffed me and my arms fall to my side, I sigh in relief

"All right. Shh... Are you ok?" She asked me

"I'm fine. Help Matt, please."

"Hastings is headed to the roof. You have to stop him." I hear Matt say and I leave

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

We continue shooting at the others, I quickly ducked behind the beam I was behind as a bullet almost hit me

"He's headed to the roof!" Rossi tells us as we watch Hastings runaway then I see JJ shortly after him

"So is JJ." I tell him

 **JJ POV...**

I climb up the ladder to the roof after Hastings trying to ignore the pain coursing through my body, I catch up with him and see him climbing another ladder at I shoot at him making him fall. He starts firing at me and I run out of bullets, I throw my gun to the ground then Emily ran up to me and fires her gun at him and he makes his way up the ladder.

Me and Emily climb up after him, Emily gets there first and tackles him to the ground, they fight but he knocks her to the ground and I ran over kicking him then punched him in the face. I went to kick him again but he cught my leg flipping us but I flipped him off the roof instead and started to go over to but Emily grabs my arms.

"I got you!" She says to me and I look down seeing Hastings laying on the ground.

* * *

I walked over to Morgan and hugged him, then hugged Spencer, I see Hotch standing by the ambulance, I walk out the doors and make my way to them.

"Can you give us a minute, please?" HE asked the EMT's and helped me into the ambulance

"Hey." I said to him kneeling down next to him

"Hey."

"Matt, what you did..." I started to say but he cut me off

"I had your back. Always did."

"Thank you." I tell him

"Jennifer..."

"Get some rest." I say and Hotch helps me out of the ambulance, I stand there as they drive off and Elizabeth walks up to me.

"JJ, I am so sorry." She says

"For what?"

"I tried to get to you when I saw the man come up behind you but someone knocked me out and.." She tells me through tears but I cut her off by hugging her

"It's not your fault" I reassured her

"I'm just so glad you're ok, I would never forgive myself."

"I'm glad you're okay too." I tell her

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Emily, how much longer do we have you?" Aaron asked her as we stood next to the bar

"Um...6 hours."

"It's too soon." Garcia says

"It's more than we had yesterday." Rossi mentioned and Spencer wrapped his arm around my waist

"Yeah. I'm just glad I finally got to meet you. I've heard such amazing things." Blake tells her

"All lies." Emily says and we all laugh

"No. No more lies. Nothing but the truth from now on." JJ tells us and looks at Will

"Oh, yeah?" He asked and they kissed, I looked at Spencer and I kissed him.

"I love you."

"I love you too" He responded and I put my head on his shoulder

 **Spencer POV...**

I see Hotch walk out of the bathroom and I walk up to him away from the others, "Hey Hotch, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure, what's up."


	30. Chapter 30

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **Spencer POV...**

"Oh come that one is perfect for her." Garcia tells me as we look at the case in the store

"Hmm I don't know, I feel bad enough that we didn't get a chance to celebrate our anniversary last month because of that case. I want to get her something that..." I stopped saying when I found what I was looking for, "There that's the one." I told her pointing to what I was looking at.

"Oh now that one is perfect for her." Garcia says, I pay for Elizabeth's present and we leave.

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I leaned against the bathroom counter looking into the mirror, Spencer went to do god knows what with Garcia, he was acting strange before he left. I was broken out of my thoughts when my phone beeped, we had a case, shortly after that it rang.

"Hey." I answered talking to Spencer

 _"Hey beautiful, want me and Garcia to pick you up for work?"_

"Um...no that's ok I'm actually already in the car heading out, I'll see you when I get there." I told him and looked down again

 _"Ok sounds, I love you"_

"I love you too" I said and hung up, I sighed looking once more in the mirror, threw my garbage away and left

* * *

I'm sitting in the bull pen area with JJ, Morgan and Rossi when Spence and Blake walk in, Spencer walks over to me and I smile as he kissed me and wrapped his arms around my shoulder and I hold his hand.

"So, we get Henry to bed, and, you know, we're about to finally have some alone time with mommy and daddy, and... You guys know the rest." JJ tells us

"Ah, trying to dust off the old cobwebs." Morgan states

"Inappropriate." Garcia tells him smacking his arm

"What?"

"Seriously, though, how long has it been?" Garcia asked her

"Too long, I mean how do you two handle it?" JJ asked me and Spencer

"Well working together helps" I tell her and Spencer nodded

"Wait do you two like do it on when on cases?" Garcia asked

"Now who's being inappropriate?" I asked her and she shyly moved her mug to her face, "And sometimes yes, that is if we get a chance to."

"Do we know what the case is?" Blake asking changing the subject

"Not yet. Hotch just said to drop everything and get back here." Rossi tells her

"You you need some private adult time." Garcia tells JJ changing the subject back, "I'll watch Henry. No bad guys, no kids, in that order. Go to Mexico. Or the Maldives, maybe."

"Cruz?" JJ asked not looking at her

"Yes! Exactly. A cruise would be perfect."

"No, no, no. Matt Cruz." JJ said indicating to Cruz and Aaron coming out of his office

"Let's get started." Aaron tells us and we make our way to the round room

"How are those ribs?" Matt asked JJ

"It still hurts when I laugh. You?"

"The scars impress the ladies." He tells her and walks around the table, "I hope you don't mind, Ms. Garcia, if I took the liberty of having the much less talented version of you in my office load the case details." He says to her grabbing the remote from her

"Oh. Yeah. Sure, no problem." She said sitting down and I rubbed her shoulder

"A good friend of mine, sheriff Peter Coleman, down in Briscoe county, Texas, reached out to me about a possible case. He's a former Texas Ranger, he's a good guy." Cruz informed us

"He read about our work on the Silencer case two years ago. He asked for a consult." Aaron adds

"What do we have?" I asked, I see Cruz look at me then back at the file he was holding, Spencer looked at me as well, I smiled at him and we looked forward

"Abigail Jones. Prostitute. She was found in a dumpster last night."

"What's that on her wrists?" Morgan asked him

"It's, uh... It's... It's... Uh, would you mind?" Cruz asked Garcia handing her the remote that he was struggling with

"Thank you, Jesus, Buddha, and Allah." She said standing up, "I like to cover my bases. You have to squeeze it." She says pressing the button and I hid back a smile

"Rope burns." Rossi points out

"Which goes hand in hand with lacerations on her back." Cruz adds

"There's also a gunshot wound to the back of her head, execution style." I mentioned looking at the file

"It's a conflict in M.O the cutting and restraining, point to a sexual sadism, but the gunshot wound ends the torture too quickly for a sadist."

"Is that the only victim?" Blake asked Cruz

"There's Hannah Kelly, another prostitute, killed 6 months ago, dumped one jurisdiction over."

"Forensic countermeasure. Smart enough to separate the victims so we won't tie them together." Blake says

"And practical, too. The body was left in hooker row, where they pick up their Johns, which brings us to our first victim, Lucas Wagner. Killed 11 months ago. Multiple arrests for soliciting a prostitute. He was found outside of a crack house where some of them lived." Cruz mentioned

"He takes a paying customer and drops them where the girls live. That sends a message that nobody's safe." Morgan inputted

"Tell sheriff Coleman we're on our way." Aaron tells him and we leave, as we walk out the door Spencer holds my hand and I smile at him

* * *

"Ballistics matched one gun to all 3 shootings. So, the same unsub killed one John and two prostitutes." JJ tells us as we look at the victims on our tablets

"At least he keeps it in the family." Rossi says

"Maybe the John's a friend of the unsub, someone he picked up prostitutes with.

"Well, once he kills his friend, it makes it easier to kill the prostitutes." Morgan pointed out

"That would explain why there's no sexual assault on the victims. It's not about rape for this unsub, it's about torture." Spencer adds

"I mean, that fits, kind of, but it just feels like we're missing something." Morgan says

"What we're missing is whether this guy's a sadist or not. A gunshot to the back of the head throws everything off." I said

"We're presuming he's using the gun to end things, but it could be part of the psychological torture." Aaron mentioned

"I'm gonna cut you, and if you flinch, bang." Spencer told us

"Ok, so let's go with that for a second. There were 5 cuts on Lucas Wagner, 9 on Hannah, 12 on Abigail. He's escalating his torture. Sadists definitely do that." JJ brought up

"And they get deeper with each victim." Blake adds

"That's right. The first cuts were experimental in nature, and the latter ones were about maximum infliction of pain." Spencer says

"What if this is vigilantism? He's punishing these women and their johns to clean up the streets." Rossi points out

"But why take so long to do it? 3 victims in 11 months? That's a substantial cooling-off period." Morgan tells him

"Morgan, you and Reid talk to anyone working the streets last night and see if they saw something useful. Dave, Elizabeth and Blake, go to the coroner's office, see what you can learn there, and JJ and I will go to the station with the sheriff and start interviewing friends and family." Aaron tells us and I gave Spencer a look

* * *

"The cuts on the back run underneath the scapula." The coroner tells me, Rossi and Blake

"What kind of knife did he use?" I asked him

"Sharp one."

"Well, we've ruled out rape, but you still needed to run a rape kit on her. Why didn't you?" Blake asked him

"She was a hooker. This was easy math."

"Well, how about this? If this were torture, the victim would be flailing about. You'd see a jagged cutting pattern as a result." Rossi tells him

"So?"

"The marks on Abigail Jones are clean. How do you account for that?" Blake asked

"Drugs."

"Well, did you find drugs in the autopsy or tox screen?" I asked

"Oh, I didn't order any of that." He tells me

"Why not?"

"C. O. D. was a gunshot wound to the head. Hello." He says

"Doctor, where did you go to medical school?" Blake asked him

"Oh, I ain't a doctor. I was elected to this position."

"Ahh." The three of of said with realization

"Democracy in action." Rossi says

"Hey now, I call up M. E.s when I need 'em."

"Well, then, uh, why don't you call up the bodies, then, of Hannah Kelly and Lucas Wagner for us." I tell him

"You want to dig up those bodies? Why? I'm gonna need a reason if I'm gonna submit the request." He mentioned to me

"We need to do the work you didn't do in the first place to confirm our theory."

"Now that we know that Lucas Wagner was a male prostitute, the unsub's M. O. makes more sense. This probably wasn't torture." Rossi points out

"Then what was it?" The coroner asked

"It was consensual S&M that ended with a gunshot." Blake tells him

* * *

"We believe the unsub we're looking for is a white male in his early 30s. While his M. O. Is that of a sadist, we think there's an underlying pathology of what we call a wound collector." Aaron informs the police department

"What's that?" The female cop asked

"A wound collector is someone who uses a lifetime of sleights, grievances, and wrongs as justification for violence. Examples can be as large-scale as Hitler scapegoating the Jews for the holocaust." Spencer tells her

"Or as common as an abusive husband blaming his wife as an excuse to beat her." I add

"This unsub is low key, almost submissive in public. He has to be to attract the prostitutes." Rossi mentions

"But his real nature will be revealed in the safety of isolation. This is the type of man who would anonymously express himself online by raging against how these women are filled with disease and filth, how they deserve what's coming to them, probably to cover for the rejection of a woman or spouse who's wronged him." Spencer says

"Which means the unsub probably has a working-class or part-time job. It gives him the time to plan and execute the murders." JJ inputted

"He's strong and good with his hands and probably drives a work truck or large vehicle." Rossi brings up

"This allows him to move the bodies and carry to tools for posing his victims." Blake tells them

"Tabitha Ryerson tells us he's losing control. He killed her in her home and then transported her body to the woods so he could mutilate her postmortem. The public nature of the display was a message." Morgan points out

"To who?" one of the cops asked

"To us. This is a small town and he knows the FBI is here investigating his crimes. He thinks he showing us that he's smarter than we are." Spencer tells him

"He's also showing us his wounds. There's part of him that wants us to stop and punish him for his crimes. Thank you." Aaron finished and answered his phone, "Excuse me."

As they all walk away and Spencer walks up to me as I face the board, "You okay?" He asked

"Yeah, I'm fine. how was it with the girls who work the streets? Were they worth the money?" I teased and he smirks at me

"There's only one girl who would ever be worth my time."

"Oh yeah? Who's that?" I asked and he wrapped his arm around my waist

"Just this amazing woman who I love more then anything." He said and I kissed him on the cheek

"I love you too, more then you know."

* * *

"How could it not be him? He had S&M sessions with all the victims." The Sheriff asked us

"We profiled that this unsub would be submissive in public and dominant with the prostitutes, and McIntyre is the opposite." Aaron tell him

"He takes the submissive role in the S&M play most likely because he's so dominant as a principal at his parochial school." Morgan adds

"So we're back to the starting point." The Sheriff points out

"Our best bet is still the prostitutes. Tabitha's death might scare some of them into talking to us." I said

"Mrs. Lawson?" Aaron asked walking over to her

"Did preacher Mills talk to you?" She asked him

"Not since yesterday. Why?"

"We were talking in his church, and one of the girls, Belinda, I think, came in begging for help. The preacher said he was gonna tell you what she saw and get an update on the case, but he never came back." She says

"When was this?" Aaron asked her

"This morning."

"No, we haven't seen him." Aaron told her

"What do you mean? She said the same thing my sister did. "They" were coming to get her. What the hell's going on?"

"Excuse me for just a moment." He tells her and walks back over to us after Spencer came over

"Guys, I think I know what the lavender on Tabitha Ryerson's legs is about. Have you ever heard of spikenard?" Spencer asked

"It's perfume. It's mentioned in the gospel. It's derived from lavender. It's what Mary Magdalene used to wash Jesus's feet." I said

"Which tells us that this unsub's message is obviously religious in nature." Spencer adds

"Preacher Mills, maybe. He came forward to volunteer information." Morgan tells us

"Well, yesterday he said he'd let us know if he had any more information, but apparently he's changed his mind." Aaron mentioned

"He fits the profile. He's morally rigorous, submissive in public." JJ added

"So we'll put an APB out for him." The Sheriff told us

* * *

"Well, I don't get it. If the preacher had something to do with it, then why was he so helpful?" One of the cops asked

"Unsubs insert themselves into investigations all the time. They enjoy the power and the feeling that they're smarter than us." I told him

"And to keep tabs on the case. He wanted to know how close we were to catching him." Aaron added and his phone rang, "Go ahead, Garcia."

 _"Sir, I got the backhoe going into this not-so-clean preacher. I haven't found his present whereabouts yet, but I'm looking at his bank account. I can tell you he doesn't adhere to the "give all your money to the poor" model."_

"Any idea where the money's coming from?" Aaron asked her

 _"Not yet. But it's mostly cash, and we're talking 6 figures big."_

"You know, maybe it's sex trafficking. This unsub is able to get prostitutes to let their guard down. They're somebody he knows." I mentioned

"I thought you said our killer was a john." The cop said to me

"Prostitutes would rat out a john or kill him themselves, but they would never go against their own pimp."

"Garcia, take everything we know about Mills and run it up against pandering and procuring charges. This isn't the first time he's done this." Aaron tells her

 _"You got it."_

* * *

"This guy fits to a "T". How can we rule him out?" The Sheriff asked us

"Criminally, pimps follow the same behavioral pattern as drug dealers." Rossi tells him

"Prostitutes are his revenue stream." JJ adds

"He would only kill them as a last resort." Spencer said standing behind me

"Which is why the cutting in Canada was a punishment, not a religious punishment, but a punishment for not doing their jobs." Blake points out

"Then he comes here to start over, set up a new shop." Morgan points out

"And that's when somebody found out about his past, used it as a forensic countermeasure to throw us off track by framing him." I said

"That's why the girls kept saying, "they're" after us. There wasn't a team of unsubs, but one sadist copying the behavior of another." Aaron says

"It would also explain the change with Tabitha, the escalation, the perfume on the feet." Spencer inputs

"But you said the unsub wanted us to catch him and punish him." The Sheriff says to us

"What he really wanted was for us to catch the preacher." Rossi tells him

"So whoever this guy is, he's fooled all of us, and now we got nothin' when it comes to the profile."

"No, that's not true. The unsub chose Mills for a reason, and Mills can still lead us to the unsub. We'll have agent Morgan and the deputies start at his house." Aaron tells him and they left

* * *

"Copy, deputy. We're on our way." The Sheriff says into his radio walking into the room "We got him."

"All right, Blake, you, Elizabeth and Reid go with the sheriff. Dave and I will coordinate the response here Aaron tells us and we leave

* * *

"The preacher's not answering." Spencer tells us sitting in the back of the Sheriff's car with me

"Keep trying. We need to tell him we know he didn't do this." Blake tells him

* * *

"He's been in there a good 5 minutes now. I haven't seen any movement yet." The deputy tells us as we get out of the vehicle

"What about patrons?" Spencer asked her

"Uh, it's closed."

"How many entrances?" I asked

"Two, it looks like."

"The question is, is he alone?" Blake asked

"Guys, I've got movement. We should move in now, sheriff." The one cop says

"Actually, we're better off establishing the perimeter first. Then we can open up a line of communication." Spencer tells him

"All right, agreed. We need to get around-" The Sheriff starts to say but then there's a gunshot and he falls to the ground, Spencer moved me behind the door of a cop car

"Shots fired! Shots fired!" The one cop says

I reach up aiming my gun and start firing at the building, I see Blake move forward and try to move the Sheriff as bullets keep flying around her.

"Blake!" Spencer yells and goes over to her but suddenly everything around me went into slow motion when I see Spencer get shot

"Spencer!" I yell looking over at him, I turn back to the building and continue firing, Morgan and JJ arrive, Morgan moves Spencer out of the way and JJ helps Blake with the Sheriff then JJ pulls out her gun and runs over to me.

"Go!" She yells and I move behind her and ran to Spencer, Blake was already there putting her hand on his neck and I see him look at me.

"Spence." I said and grabbed his hand

"We need a medic now! There's too much blood!" Blake yells and looks at Spencer

"Hey. Hey, you're doing great, all right? Yeah. You gotta stay right here, ok? Eyes on me. Eyes on me." I tell him and he starts to close his eyes

"No, no. No. Ethan? Ethan! Open your eyes." Blake says to him and I looked at her confused

"Hurry! Hurry!" I yelled, "Come on baby stay with me you promised." I say to him

* * *

"Anything yet?" I asked walking over to JJ and Blake

"No." Blake tells me and I sit down next to her

"Spence would have read like two books by now." JJ says

"Maybe 3." I pointed out

"It should have been me." Blake said and I grabbed her hand

"Or me or any of us." JJ tells her

"No. He pushed me out of the way. If he doesn't make it-"

"He'll make it." JJ reassured her and grabbed my other hand and I looked at her and she smiled

"He has to. He's just-he's too young." Blake said

"Yeah, there's still things for him to do. You know, he wants kids." JJ says and I shifted in my seat, "Can you imagine Spence as a dad?" She asked and they smiled, I feel JJ put her hand on my back, "I'm sorry Elizabeth."

I shook my head, "It's ok." I tell her and gave a small chuckle, "It's um..funny you should say that." I tell her and look at them, "Because I'm pregnant."

"What?" they both asked and turned to face me

"I just found out today" I said and looked down, "I haven't even told him yet." I tell them and put my head in my hands and I feel JJ pull me into a hug and Blake rubbed my back

"He'll be okay, you promised each other right?" JJ asked and I nodded my head

"Congratulations by the way." Blake tells me and I look at her.

"Thank you." I said and grabbed her hand

"Hey." Garcia says walking up to us and we stand up

"You made it" JJ says to her giving her a hug

"Yeah, it turns out We're not the only one that's connected and he knows somebody with plane." Garica said and hugged me, "You okay?" She asked me

"I'm trying to be."

"How is he?" Garcia asked Blake

"Still in surgery."

"You all can see agent Morgan now." a nurse came up and told us

"Well, if you don't mind, I'd really like to stay here." Blake tells us

"The second you hear anything, call me." I say to her and she nods her head

"How's Reid?" Morgan asked when we walked into his room and Aaron pulled me into a hug.

"He's still in surgery." JJ answered and Morgan started to move trying to get out of of bed

"No! What are you doing?" Garcia asked him

"You can bet your ass I'm not gonna just sit around here. Guys, come on, get me out of here."

"Actually, you are." Cruz tells him, "Just hang on a second. Just until we figure out what's what. Catch me up."

"The 3 victims inside were dead before the shooting started. Lividity had set in and there was no blood spatter." Aaron tells him pulling away from me

"They weren't killed there. The preacher's car was clean, so there's no way he transported bodies in it." Rossi added

"So you were right. He was being framed. But by whom?" Cruz asked

"The answer's in the victims, Belinda Clark and Jesse Moore were both tied to prostitution like the others. Travis Henson was a regular at the pool hall, but he didn't work there." Aaron tells Cruz

"See, I don't get why the preacher didn't just come clean with you."

"He was a narcissistic sociopath who was cornered, but he still thought that he could get away with it." Aaron mentioned

"Once he started shooting, he made his decision. Coming clean was no longer an option." JJ says

"Guys, I don't think he was the first one to shoot. Whoever set him up was there." Morgan pointed out

"That's ballsy. What makes you think that?" Cruz asked him

"Because I'm pretty sure that Reid and I heard the first shots fired. We were all outside of that diner. Anybody got any photos?"

"Yeah. I downloaded the crime scene photos." Garcia tells him handing him her tablet

"All right, show me Coleman."

"Right here." Aaron says

"Where's my vest? I want to show you something." He tells us and Garcia hands him the bag, "All right. You see these? That's from a Mac-10. Now look at this." He points to the photo on the tablet, "You see how the impact mushrooms out? That's from a semi-jacketed hydro shock round. It makes a high-pitched scream. And I know that I heard it."

"That's law enforcement issue." Rossi points out

"Friendly fire?" Cruz asked

"No. All those cops, including you Elizabeth were shooting into the diner. The round came from the same direction as the preacher." Morgan says

"Ok, I don't know who shot first, but I do know that every victim's connected to the pool hall. The only one missing is Dinah." JJ said

"Go find her." Aaron tells her and they left, I looked at Aaron and he nodded and I headed back to the waiting room sitting next to Blake.

* * *

"Agents." The doctor says to us

"How is he?" Blake asked and I stood up

"Incredibly lucky. Two millimeters to the right and the bullet would have torn through the carotid artery. It nicked some smaller vessels, but we've stopped the bleeding. You can see him now." He says and I sigh in relief and Blake hugs me.

"You go ahead I'm gonna call JJ." She says to me and I nodded following the doctor to Spencer's room

He was laying there in the bed with his eyes closed, I walked over to him and held his hand then leaned forward kissing his head and Blake walks in

* * *

"It'll be so great if he wakes up...and this is the first thing he sees," Garcia says placing Doctor Who stuff the table in front of Spencer and I chuckled, "I mean, other then you of course Elizabeth."

"Yeah. The good doctor will always make him smile." I tell her looking at him, I was sitting next to his bed holding his hand

"It'd be really great if he wakes up and we're all-ooh- staring at him. So, I'm gonna go stand over here." Garcia said and went to the window, "Can I ask you something Elizabeth?"

"Yeah anything."

"Did I interrupt a moment earlier? I just seemed like..." She says and I sighed and looked at Blake then her.

"I'm pregnant." I tell her and she rushed over to me pulling me into a hug.

"Oh my god! You and him are...oh my god!" She exclaimed and I laughed, "Wait a minute why were at the shoot out then?"

"Because I...I don't know, I wanted to help and I just..."

"Okay well from now on missy you are you stay far away from guns and danger." She says and I laughed

"Yes ma'am" I told her and she went back to the window

"Does he know?" She asked me

"Not yet"

* * *

"Hey you." I said to him still holding his hand as he opened his eyes

"Is this Heaven? Because there's an angel next to me"

"That's not funny." I tell him through tears and he pulls me into a hug with his other arm

"I know I'm sorry."

"I was so scared...I thought..." I started to say but he looks at me

"Hey, none of that, remember? You can't let your mind go to those places." He said and I nodded, "I love you."

"I love you too." I tell him and he kissed me, I moved away so Blake could hug him

"When this comes off, I'm gonna look just like Boris Karloff." He tells us and I smile

"Yeah. A little green makeup and you'll have the best Halloween mask ever." She tells him and he closed his eyes, "Everybody's fine. Don't worry." She says

"I'm not."

"You've got that furrowed brow." I told him and he smiled at me

"Hey, hey, hey. Will you look who's still awake." Garcia said walking into the room carrying a tray and sets it down, "Can you tell her she can go now, please?" She tells him indicating to Blake

"I'm ok, Alex. Go help the team." He says to her and looks at me, "You too."

"Nope no way I'm staying here" I told him and looked at Garcia and Blake

"All right. I'm out of here. I'm glad you're awake." Blake says to him

"Thank you." He said and she left

"Ok. Juice, broth, or jell-o!" Garcia asked him and he smiled

"Jell-o, my favorite." He says grabbing the jell-o and Garcia hands me a granola bar and shifts her eyes to my stomach

"Thank you" I told her and she smiled

* * *

"Dinah didn't claim any dependents when she filed her tax returns. Bonus points for checking in with Uncle Sam. At least that part of her life's in order." Garcia says on the phone to JJ, "She's from around here. Mom lives 10 miles away. Uh...This is weird. Her mom has a first-grader enrolled at Buckingham elementary. What are the chances a 78-year old has a first-grader?" She asked and there was a pause, "Josh. I'm sending all the information out." She says and I look at Spencer

"Hey. Eat that." I told him pointing to his tray and he smiled at me

* * *

I excused myself to go to the bathroom and made my way down the hall when I get a text with a photo from Aaron, _It's Owen McGregor_ , just as I round the corner I see him standing at the nurses station, I hid behind a wall and called Garcia after sending her the picture.

 _"Hey."_

"Hey, did you get it?" I asked her

 _"Yeah what is..."_

"That's the cop the others are looking for." I tell her and peak around the corner.

"That way?" He asked the nurse pointing towards Spencer's room

 _"He's right there, isn't he?"_ She asked me

"He's at the nurses station."

 _"Oh, I gotta get back to Reid."_ She says

"Garcia, get in that room and shut the door." I tell her

 _"Ok, I did that. Now what?"_

"I need you to focus and I need you to listen to me. Can you do that?" I asked her

 _"Yes, yes, I can do that. I can do that."_

"Is there a wheelchair in the room?" I asked

 _"Um...Yes."_

"Good. Get Spencer in it." I told her and I see Owen walk away from the nurses station putting sanitizer on his hands

 _"That is not gonna be easy."_

"Then get his patient bag. His gun is in there." I tell her

 _"Oh, my God. What?"_ She asked me

"Garcia I need you to get out in that hallway."

 _"Okay."_ She says and hang up the phone, I rounded the corner and looked to see if anyone was around and I pulled the fire alarm, I see Garcia wheeling Spencer down the hall with everyone else, I looked to see Owen looking at her talking on her phone and I followed her out.

* * *

"He's gone. They're letting us back in." Garcia says on the phone to Morgan, "I lost a couple karma points, but, uh-huh, I did it." She says and I smile then she hangs up, "Morgan's on his way." She tells me and I indicate her to take Spencer

"All right I'm gonna go to the nurses station and let them know that no one other then us and the others are allowed in the room." I told her and grabbed Spencer's hand giving it a squeeze and he smiled at me then I walked away.

* * *

 **Garcia POV...**

"You ok?" I asked Reid as he laid back in his bed

"Yeah. I'm just really tired."

"Of course you are. You need to get some sleep." I tell him and the male nurse walked in, "Oh, but how can you sleep? 'Cause you're in a hospital where people are always poking you." I say and I see the nurse hold a bottle with a needle, "He had his meds an hour ago."

"Yeah, post-op antibiotics."

"Yeah, he had those, too." I tell him

"Which ones?" Spencer asked and he looked at the bottle, "Carbenicillin? No, that's not right. I have a severe reaction to beta lactams. I can't have that."

The nurse grabs the chart, "That's not in your chart." He says and puts the needle into Reid's IV drip

"What are you doing? What are you doing?" Reid asks him and starts to take the needle out of his hand, he smacks the nurses hand and the guy bends over, "Garcia! He has a gun!" Reid warns me and I reached into his patient bag and grabbed his gun then fired it at the guy.

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I was walking back to Spencer's room when I hear a gunshot, I ran forward drawing my own gun and go into the room seeing a male nurse on the floor, shortly after Morgan came running over, he knelt down next to the guy who was still moving and cuffed him, I put my gun away and went over to Spencer and hugged him

"I didn't know how loud. I can't hear, 'cause my heart feels like it's gonna come out." Garcia says and I see her holding Spencer's gun, "Can that happen? Physically, can your heart burst out of your chest?" She asked and Spencer grab his gun from her then sets it down, "And what is this ringing? My ears don't pop for like a week after I fly, and if this is like that, that's gonna drive me bonkers. Am I yelling? Because it feels like I might be yelling."

"You saved my life." Spencer tells her and she looks at him, "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I heard that. That makes it better. Thank you for saying that." She says to him and hugs him

"Thank you for doing it."

"Uh-huh. Ok. You're ok" She said and I smiled and mouth thank you to her and she nodded, Morgan left the room to call the others, I see Spencer whisper something in her ear and she looked at me then back at Spence and reached into his patient bag grabbing something out then handing it to him.

"Liz." He says to me and I sit down on his bed facing him, "I know that this is really horrible timing but everything has happened so fast and I feel like this is as good of time as any." He said and I look at him confused then see him open up a box and my jaw dropped, "We've had a crazy year, but I know one things for certain and that is how much I love you and want to spend everyday of my life with you," He grabs my hand and looks at me, "Will you marry me?" He asked sliding a ring on my finger and I look at him with tears in my eyes.

"Do you even have to ask?" I tell him and kissed him, "Yes" I said and he smiled kissing me again.

"Oh yay this is so great!" Garcia exclaimed and we look at her smiling, "And perfect timing too because you have a little genius..." She says and I shoot her a look, "Oops" She says and I sighed, Spencer looked at her confused then looked at me, "I'll just um..yeah" She said and left the room

"Liz?" He asked

"I'm pregnant." I told him and he looked at me with shock.

"What? How? But you..."

"Well I'm pretty sure I don't have to tell you how it happened but yes, I'm..I'm pregnant." I tell him and he pulls me into a hug

"But wait a minute you were at the restaurant when the shooting happened you could've been.."

"Garcia's already yelled at me for it, I know, I just wanted to help." I said and he put his hand on my stomach and I put my hand on his, "Please tell me you're happy." I tell him and he kissed me

"I'm beyond happy Liz, we're gonna have a family." He says and I smiled and kissed him again

* * *

We all sat on the jet and I was sitting with Spencer as he laid his head down on my lap and slept, when everyone got to the hospital we announced our engagement but kept the pregnancy a secret, at least for now.

"Huh. Look at this. It's a booked flight." Garcia says to us

"Maybe with the year we've all had, uh, the brass will give us a bigger plane, you know." Cruz mentions

"Yeah. Let me know how that goes." Rossi tells him and we all chuckle

"What did the Rangers think?" JJ asked Cruz

"Sadly, they've seen this before. They're going to have their hands full cleaning the place up."

"Hotch, don't tell me we have another case." Morgan says to him when we hear his phone chirp

"Are we turning the plane around?" Garcia asked him

"No. No, we're gonna go home and get some sleep."

"Lots of it, I hope." Rossi says

"I am starting now." Garcia told them and walked away, I took out my phone and sent a message to Aaron, _Are you ready to be an Uncle?_ We may be keeping it a secret at the moment but Spencer did say I could tell Aaron, his phone chirps again and he looks at it then back at me, I smile and he types back

 _Only if you tell me it's Reid's_ I looked at him and typed a reply

 _Don't make smack you_ he chuckles and I look down at Spencer

* * *

"You sure you're ok?" Blake asked Spencer as we made our way up the steps to our apartment

"I feel great. Ah, that's overselling it. I, uh, I feel great considering I just got shot in the neck."

I unlock the door, turn on the light and we walk inside, "Where do you want this?" Blake asked him holding his bag

"Right there is fine." He indicated to the chair and I set mine down on the floor next to it

"Ok. So, you should get some sleep." She tells him

"You all right?" He asked her

"Yesterday touched a nerve when I saw you like that."

"Who's Ethan?" I asked

"My son. He was 9 when he died." She says and I closed my eyes, I felt like and ass now, "Doctors said it was neurological, but they didn't have a name for it. Still don't. That drove me crazy. No word to put to this thing that took away my greatest love."

"I'm sorry." Spencer told her

"He kept growing despite his disease. The last time I lay beside him he was almost as long as me. He was ready to go. But I wasn't ready to say good-bye. I begged him to open his eyes. And the cruelest part was that I could see who he would be at 20, but I knew he'd never get there." She says and I hug her

"Ethan is a great name." I tell her

"Yeah. It means enduring."

"It's fitting." Spencer says, "You and James never let go of one another." He says and she looked at him then at me and smiled then walked towards the door, "Have you ever had that feeling that your future is somehow behind you?" He asked her

"All the time."

"I did, too. But it isn't." He says

"Ethan would have been a lot like you."

"Thank you for being there when I woke up. That meant a lot." He tells her and she smiles

"Of course." She says and looks at me, "You two are going to be amazing parents, that kid just won the lottery." She tells us and I hug her

"Bye, Alex." Spencer says and she left

We walked over to the window and saw her hail a taxi, I wrap my arms around Spencer's waist and he kissed my head, "Come on you need to sleep." I tell him and he looks at me

"You need to sleep more then I do right now" He tells me and I groan

"You're not gonna start that over protectiveness stuff you did with JJ are you?"

He kissed me, "You're just going to have to deal with it." He says and I smack his arm lightly

"Fine then I'm doing it too, get in bed mister." I tell him and he pulls me against him

"Only if you join me future Mrs. Reid."

I smiled and kissed him, "Mmm I like how that sounds." I tell him and he grabs my hand and leads us into the bedroom.


	31. Chapter 31

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Hey what do you think you're doing?" I asked Spencer when I saw him in the kitchen reaching up for something.

"I'm trying to find the salt."

"You're suppose to be resting." I tell him and he looks at me

"I'm suppose to be resting?" He asked and I groaned

"Spencer we talked about this, I am perfectly able to do stuff."

He grabs the salt out setting it on the counter and walked over to me, "I know you are, I just want to make sure you take care of yourself, for the both of you." He says and puts his hand on my stomach, I was now 2 months pregnant and Spencer had fully healed from his gunshot wound but his headaches were acting up again.

"I am, trust me." I tell him and he grabs my hand running his thumb across my ring

"How's the wedding planning going?" He asked and I sighed

"Ok I guess, you sure you want a wedding? Can't we just go to Vegas with Aaron and your mom and get it done there?"

He chuckled and put his hands on my hips, "Yes, I know it sounds weird because I'm the groom and I want the wedding but you know the team will never forgive us if we eloped."

"Yeah you're right. On the plus side Rossi said we can use his backyard like we did with JJ's so we save money on not having to book a church." I tell him and he kissed me

"That's good, do you want any help planning?" He asked me

"I won't make you but if you want definately but right now I have other plans for you." I tell him and he looked at me confused then I grabbed his hand and lead him to the bedroom.

After we were done, we sat in the bed with the binder I had put together for the wedding, "So, flowers done, color theme done, music done, Rossi is helping with caters despite my protests," I said and Spencer chuckled kissing my shoulder, "Now all that's left is, your tux along with whoever your groomsmen are, my dress and bridesmaid dresses, and...write our own vows or do the traditional ones?" I asked him

"Hmm...do you want to write your own?"

"That's not what I asked you, I asked if you wanted to." I tell him and he smiles and kisses me, moves the binder off my lap then moving us so he was hovering above me, "What...are...you...doing?" I asked him in between kisses

"What does it look like?" He asked and ran his hand over my thigh and I moaned into his mouth

"Don't you think we've had enough?" I asked him and he moved his lips to my ear lightly nibbling it

"I'll never get enough of you." He says and moves his hand inward and runs his fingers along my center

"Stop teasing me Dr. Reid."

He growled against my neck and pushed 2 of his fingers in and I gripped my hands in his hair arching my back, "Oh god" I whispered and he moved his fingers in and out while kissing my neck and lightly nipping at it then he put another finger in, "Ooh!" He picked up the pace with his fingers and I jerked my hips against his hand as he continued, "Spence." I moaned then he took his fingers out, before he could do anything I flipped us so I was on top and I kissed him then went to his neck lightly biting it and he moaned. I moved my legs so I straddled his lap and lowered myself down onto him letting out a moan, he grabbed my hips and I started moving them.

"Oh Liz." He moans and I started to pick up my pace, he started moving his hands up my body and put them on my breasts squeezing them then brought them back to my hips, we continued like that until he sat up and shifted us so we were face to face and he put his hand in my hair and pulled my head back then attacked my neck, we both panted as I continued moving

"Oh! Oh Spencer...mm" I moaned and bit my lip then after a few short minutes I reached my peak and Spencer followed shortly after, we stayed like that for a few more minutes and he kisses me.

"Words can't even describe how much I love you." He tells me and I smile

"Same here"

* * *

"What do you think of these ones?" JJ asked me pointing at a couple of bridesmaid dresses in the magazine she was looking at, they were light blue A-line v neck knee high flowy dresses

"Well it does match the color theme, and you would look great in it." I tell her and she smiles, I was so glad I had JJ to help me, she was my closests girlfriend and she is also my maid of honor

"Yeah but it's not about me looking great it's about you looking great."

"True but I know Will would like seeing you in it." I tell her and she lightly pushes me

"Shush you" She says and I giggle, "Ok so back to the question what do you think?"

"I like them, we'll add them to the 2 others."

"Now onto your dress." She tells me

"Ah I actually have that one narrowed down and with the wonderful help of Garcia she was able to hunt it down for me." I tell her showing the picture of my dress

"Oh wow that's beautiful."

"It is, now the thing is getting it to fit around my pregnant belly." I said indicating to my stomach, I wasn't showing much but my clothes were getting close to no longer fitting.

"Oh stop it'll fit and you will look amazing." She tells me and I smile at her

"Now bachlorette party.

"Oh god" I groaned and she chuckled

* * *

"Elizabeth Hotchner get your pregnant butt out here or I will come in there and drag you out." Garcia yells at me from outside the dressing room

"All right all right already." I tell her and I walk out of the dressing room

"Oh..oh my god you look" Garcia starts to say but I see the happy tears in her eyes

"You look amazing." JJ says and I smile at her and walk over to the mirror looking at myself

"Just like an angel" I said still looking at myself

* * *

 _ **2 Weeks later**_

"Is it possible to have gigantic moths fluttering around in your stomach because that's what I feel right now." I tell JJ as I fixed the centerpiece on a table for the 3rd time

"Yes, it's normal, I felt that way on my wedding day, even though it was a surprise."

"I just can't seem to shake the fact that I'm missing something." I mentioned looking around, Rossi had people working around the entire back yard setting up the chairs, the wedding tent, the archway, everything.

"Would you stop, everything is covered and fine. Just worry about becoming the future Mrs. Reid" JJ tells me and I smile

"Thank you JJ, for everything."

"No need to thank me." She says and Garcia walks over

"I don't mean to worry you but um.."

"What?" I asked her

"Your fiance got left alone with your brother."

"Aaron? Why is that cause for worry?" I asked

"No not Hotch the other one."

"Sean?" I asked and she nodded, I walked away from them and saw Spencer and Sean standing in Rossi's living room talking and I walked up to them

"...late Middle English via Old French from Latin matrimonium, based on mater, or mother so in the case it seems..."

"Hey there." I said interrupting Spencer, "Hey baby brother." I say and he pulls me into a hug

"Hey sis, who's the walking google?" He asked me

"Sean this Spencer" I introduced and Sean looked at me then at Spence.

"You're Spencer?"

"That's right." Spencer tells him and I smiled at him then looked at Sean

"Huh..better then the losers she used to date." Sean said and I smacked him on the arm

"Sean!"

"What?" He asked laughing, "Oh come it's true." He says and I just shake my head, "Anyways um..Where's Aaron?"

"Top of the stairs, third door on the left, him and Jack are getting ready." I tell him and look at Spencer, "Which by the way shouldn't you be getting ready?" I asked him

"I'm going, just wanted to see you first." He said and kissed my cheek

"Well technically you aren't suppose to see me until I'm walking down the isle."

"You know the whole superstition about the groom not seeing the bride before the wedding is complete hear say, in truth.."

"Spencer" I say and he looks at me then at Sean

"Right sorry, I'll go get ready." He says and walks away

"So who is that guy again?" Sean asked me

"The man of my dreams." I tell him and he gives me a side hug then heads upstairs, I look at my watch and realize what time it is.

"Oh shoot." I said and made my way up the stairs to get ready as well

* * *

"There all done." JJ says after finishing my hair, I look in the mirror and smile, she put my hair in a fishtail braid having it go over my right shoulder.

"Thank you JJ" I tell her and she puts a hand on my shoulder

"You look so beautiful Elizabeth." Garcia tells me

"Thank you guys,for everything. Which is why I got you these." I tell them standing up and going over to my purse pulling out two boxes and gave them their boxes

"What are these?" JJ asked as they opened them

"Just a thank you for always being there for me, not only as my friends and teammates but as the sisters I always wish I had." I tell them and they hold up their necklaces.

"Thank you Elizabeth these are.." JJ said but I cut her off

"No, no need to say thank you." I tell her and they both hug me then there's a knock at the door, Garcia opens it and I see Diana standing there.

"Diana." I said walking over to her and hugged her

"Elizabeth, you look.." She says but stops

"Thank you, and thank you for coming, I know you hate flying." I tell her and she put her hand on my face

"I wouldn't miss this for the world."

I put my hand on hers and smiled, "Have you seen Spencer yet?"

"Yes, he looks...so grown up." She says and puts her hand over her mouth and tears form in her her eyes

"Oh um Garcia." I said and she brings me a tissue which I hand to Diana, "Here you go Diana."

"Thank you, and please call me mom."

"Mom" I tell her and smile

"Thank you for making my Spencer happy."

"He makes it easy." I tell her and she hugs me again and there's another knock at the door

"Come in." I said and Aaron opened the door

"It's time" He tells us

"We'll see you down there." JJ says, her, Diana and Garcia leave the room and Aaron looks at me

"You look beautiful." He tells me and I smile

"Thank you" I grab my bouquet and walk over to him

"One more thing um.." He says and I look at him, "I wanted you to have this, I know it would have meant a lot to her if you had it." He tells me and holds up a charm bracelet

"Aaron that's.."

"The bracelet Haley wore on our wedding day." He says and puts it on my wrist and I try to hold back tears

"Thank you." I tell him and a tear fell out of my eye but he wiped it away

"Shall we?" He asked holding out his arm and we made our way down the stairs and headed to the door leading outside, I saw everyone sitting outside, it was mainly just close friends, I see Spencer standing at the end with Morgan by his side and Rossi next to him, and suddenly my heart started racing, I feel Aaron nudge me, "You okay?"

"Just don't let me fall down." I tell and he chuckled

"Never" He says and we make our way out the door after Jack who is the ring bearer, JJ and Garcia, I look at Spencer and he smiles at me which I returned.

When we reached where he was Aaron hugs me then shakes Spencer's hand and stands next to Sean, I take hold of Spencer's hand and hand JJ my bouquet.

"You may be seated." The pastor tells everyone, "We are gathered together to celebrate the very special love between Elizabeth and Spencer, by joining them in marriage." He says and I look at Spencer, "All of us need and desire to love and to be loved. And the highest form of love between two people is within a monogamous, committed relationship. Elizabeth and Spencer, your marriage today is the public and legal joining of your souls that have already been united as one in your hearts. Marriage will allow you a new environment to share your lives together, standing together to face life and the world, hand-in-hand. Marriage is going to expand you as individuals, define you as a couple, and deepen your love for one another. To be successful, you will need strength, courage, patience and a really good sense of humor." He tells us and everyone chuckled "So, let your marriage be a time of waking each morning and falling in love with each other all over again. Elizabeth and Spencer have requested to recite their own vows, to express their love for one another sharing it with us all. Spencer?" He says and Spencer clears his throat

"Elizabeth, from the moment we met leading up to now I found myself falling in love with someone I never expected to fall in love with. You are the first person I want to see in the morning and the last at night. I look forward to loving the smallest moments, like your eyes when you read your favorite book, the way you love with all your heart and would do anything to keep the ones you love safe. You are my wish come true, you are my other half. You are the one that makes me laugh when I'm sad, makes me consider when I want to be rash, and finds me when I am lost. You are my guide, teacher, and one true love, my angel." He says and I smile at him with my heart swelling trying to hold back my tears as he slides my band on my finger

"Elizabeth." The pastor says to me

"Spencer, you once told me a quote from my favorite author and that has been our quote since I told you it was my favorite in Alaska, 'Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore', every moment with you makes my heart still, you look at me with love and appreciation that no one has ever done. I promise never to let go of your hand, that the hand that I take now, will be the same one I hold in the autumn of our lives. You are my best friend, my confidant. Marrying you is truly my every desire fulfilled, I love you with a love that cannot be expressed in words - only in kisses, in glances, and in the years of our lives, and our child will grow up with the love we share for each other, and we will give that love to him..or her." I said with a smile and he chuckled as I put the ring on his finger.

"If anyone has just cause as to why these two shall not be wed speak now or forever hold your peace." The pastor says, no one spoke up, "Well then, by the power vested in me by the state of Virginia, I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss your bride." The paster tells Spencer and he puts his hand on my face and kisses me and everyone cheered.

* * *

After we all ate, danced and laughed, everyone gathered outside of Rossi's front door as me and Spencer walked out and headed to Spencer's car that they had decorated, I hugged Aaron, Sean and Jack while Spencer hugged his mom then we got into the car.

I leaved over, kissed Spencer on the cheek and rested my head on his shoulder, "How do you feel Dr. Reid?" I asked him and he kissed my head

"Like the luckiest man ever Mrs. Reid." He says and I smiled at him, I watched as he drove and noticed he turned down a different street.

"Um Spence our road is back there." I tell him

"I have a present for you." He says and I looked at him confused, "You have to close your eyes though, we're almost there."

"You know I hate surprises."

"You'll like this one." He said and I looked at him then sighed closing my eyes, I feel the car stop, heard Spencer open his door then close it, my door opens and he grabs my hand helping me out of the car then leads me to where ever he was leading me.

"Okay open them." He says stopping me and I open my eyes

"Spencer is this?"

"Our new home." He tells me and I look at him shocked, "While you, JJ and Garcia were dress shopping Hotch came here with me and we looked at the house, 4 bedroom, one level, 2 bathrooms, nice spacious backyard, state of the art security system." He tells me and I feel tears form in my eyes

"I don't even know what to say." I tell him and he puts his hands on my face

"You don't have to say anything, your reaction is enough." I kissed him and he leads me to the door, "Now to commemorate tradition." He says and picks me up bridal style, "Time to carry my beautiful wife across the threshold." He tells me and I giggle, he opens the door walks us in and shuts it then sets me down.

"When did you get everything moved in?" I asked him looking around

"Yesterday when you were at Rossi's."

"You sneaky genius" I tell him and he smirks

"Wait until you see what else I have planned for you" He says scooping me up again

"Lead the way Dr. Reid." I tell him and he kissed me bringing me to the bedroom. Nothing could make me happier then this moment, at least until our child is born.


	32. Chapter 32

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Come on, it's time to get up." I said to Spencer kissing his head and he stirred then turned to face me pulling me to him

"Do we have to?"

I giggled and kissed him, "Yes my husband we have to." I tell him and he pulls me to him

"Say that again" He says and I smiled and kissed him again

"My husband"

"Mmm I love when you say that" He says and I giggle

"And I love saying it, but we're going to be late if you don't get up"

"Mmm let's be late then" He says and flips us hovering above me and started trailing kisses down my neck

"You are evil." I said and he kisses me

"No, just absolutely in love with you."

"I love you too, how's your head?" I asked him

"It's better, it was probably just everything from the shooting."

"Well I'm glad." I tell him and he kisses me

* * *

We arrive at work and make our way to the elevator, it starts to close but Spencer puts his bag in between the doors and I laugh

"Sorry." He tells the lady in the elevator, "Hi."

"Good morning." I greeted

"Good morning. Which floor?" She asked us

"Uh, 6, pl- hmm, you, too." Spencer says and we stand there, "Karaoke at the Benjamin." He said and we look at him

"Excuse me?" She asked

"You were singing karaoke at the Benjamin the night it closed."

"I was. Good memory."

"You have no idea" I tell her and Spencer nudged me

"Billy Joel might have died a little that night." The lady mentioned and I laughed

"Sadly, he was not the only one. He got us started, but we went on to do a 6-song set." Spencer added

"The eighties took a fatal hit, if I remember correctly. Have you seen the place that took over? It's like techno and twerking." She tells us

"It's not really my crowd." Spencer says

"What? You don't twerk?" She asked sarcastically and I snorted but Spencer stayed quiet, "I was-I was kidding." She says and we reached our floor

"Ah. A gentleman and a scholar." She tells him as he held the door open for me and her

"Agent Hotchner's office is the first one at the top of the stairs." He indicated to her

"Thanks."

"Good luck." I said and looked at Spencer, "She's nice."

"Hotch talked to Emily." I hear JJ say as her, Rossi, Morgan and Garcia walked over to us

"She just doesn't want to come back." Rossi says

"Why? She loves us." Garcia mentioned

"For what it's worth, Hotch is interviewing someone we've met before." Spencer tells them

"He is?" JJ asked

"How many candidates is that now?" Morgan asked as well

"This one makes lucky number 10." Rossi told them

"What? See, this is what happens when I don't sleep. I miss things. Who is this person? Are they nice? Why is that the first question I always ask?" Garcia asked looking towards Aaron's office

* * *

"Everyone, this is SSA Kate Callahan from Andy Swan's unit. She'll be joining the team." Aaron tells us as they both walk into the round room

"Congratulations." Spencer tells her

"How are Andy and Seaver doing?" Morgan asked her sitting down

"Oh, they're great and they say hello."

"Welcome, welcome." Garcia says and Kate sits down next to me

"We can get started." Aaron tells Garcia

"Yes, we can. The mad butcher of Bakersfield has left another torso in the desert. This brings the body count to 3 this month and still none of them have been identified."

"At this pace he's going for a record." Rossi points out

"Yeah, and quite the imagery. What's he trying to say? A torso by itself has no life." Kate mentioned

"Right. It can't survive. It might be how he sees himself." Rossi added

"It could also be a simple forensic countermeasure. He dumps the torso after getting rid of all the pieces that can identify his victims." JJ says

"That would make sense for someone who's criminally sophisticated, but this guy's leaving his DNA all over the torsos." Morgan inputted

"Well, we've kept tabs in CODIS. He's not in any system. But it's still a risk for him and taunt to us." Rossi says, "Hey, Einstein. You're awfully quiet." Rossi tells Spencer and I smiled

"I'm just reading here the M.E. thinks the victims were alive for 48 hours while he disarticulates."

"That means the unsub's sexual gratification comes from cutting." I pointed out

"Exactly. He wouldn't go to these extremes if he were merely discarding the limbs. He obviously enjoys the ritual. It's some kind of torture."

"So if it isn't about easy disposal, the limbs could be his trophies." Morgan says

"He'd need preserving agents and isolation. Garcia, come up with a list of suppliers in Southern California. We'll cross that with a geographical profile when we have it." Aaron tells her

"Keywords sodium dioxide and silicate." Spencer tells her

"You're the best. Thank you."

"Tell them we're on our way." Aaron says

"Yes, sir."

* * *

"The Butcher, 100 bucks says we have the media to thank for that one." Kate says

"This is Los Angeles. They make everything a spectacle." I tell her

"I'm sure he's getting off on it. They always do."

"He spared the second victim the mutilations, but the first and latest are covered. There's no clear he's experimenting " Morgan pointed out, I had shut my file, I was used to be able to handle looking at the bodies but being pregnant got me a little queasy looking at them

"Or he's trying to remove something that could identify those victims, like tattoos, birthmarks." Kate mentioned

"Still hard to believe we can't I.D. a torso. I mean, back in the day I'd get it, but nowadays everyone might as well have a microchip." Rossi says

"Cutting that first victim seems extreme. I wonder if he's linked to him somehow." I inputted, Spencer looked at me and I gave him a small smile when he noticed I didn't have my file open and he put his hand on my leg

"None of the victims matched any missing persons reports and were likely chosen for their anonymity. Southern California's notorious for its transient community." Spencer told us

"Going after high-risk victims makes sense for this guy. I mean, there's nothing about him that's particularly unique." Morgan said

"Except he first attacked a male and then moved on to females." Rossi adds

"That's strange, 'cause a fantasy this advanced is usually specific to one type." Kate brought up

"Well, there was no DNA left on this male victim. So it isn't overtly sexual like his other victims." JJ tells her

"So he's either a victim of opportunity or necessity."

"3 victims in a month means he's got something to prove." Aaron says

"Either to himself or the rest of us." Rossi tells him

"All right, when we land, Morgan, you and Reid go to the medical examiner. Dave and Kate go to the latest disposal site. And JJ, Elizabeth and I will get set up with lieutenant Banks at the P.D." Aaron tells us and I grabbed Spencer's had, he knows how much I'm hating having to sit back and watch.

* * *

"The disposal sites are within 5 miles, but until we know the abduction sites, it's hard to know how big his comfort zone is." Aaron tells the detective

"Transients, they tend to gather in that area."

"We're gonna need surveillance teams at each of the disposal sites." Aaron says to him

"What are we looking for? CSI, they already scoured the place. They didn't find a thing."

He could be coming back to relive the crimes. It explains the DNA on the torsos." I said to him

"Two-man teams good enough?" He asked Aaron

"It works for us. Thanks."

* * *

"Well, pretty boy here figured out how to I.D. the latest Vic." Morgan tells us walking over

"We had Garcia match body type and weight with local missing women who also had surgeries." Spencer says and stand behind my chair

"Her name's Kim Eakle. She recently moved to California. She's single. Parents just reported her missing." Morgan informed us

"And where's she from?" I asked him

"Riverside. But we have no way of knowing where or when she was taken."

"This is all over the news. Everyone's hyper-vigilant. You think he's got some kind of ruse to get her?" The Detective asked

"More like he knocks her out. Nothing about this guy says charming." JJ tells him

"Garcia, where are we on the preservatives?" Aaron asked her

" _Who knew that Southern California was a hub for silica gel? I've got a dozen places shipping regularly to a few residences."_

"He needs isolation. Do any of the residences have basements or detached garages?" He asked her

" _No basements, but two have garages."_

"Any of them single men?" I asked her

" _I wish that they were, then they'd be doing their silica weirdness family free. Both of them are married with children, actually."_

"All right, send the addresses." Aaron tells her

" _Yep, done."_

* * *

"The whole thing sounds bizarre. Do you believe him?" The Detective asked us

"Yes. Fetishes aren't always violent. He had a need for the limbs, but not a desire to kill." Kate told him

"Then who are we looking for?" the Detective asked

"Single white male, 30 to 40, living in isolation." Aaron tells him

"He seeks out solitude because he was probably raised in an abusive home and he's still looking for refuge." Morgan adds

"Chances are he lost his job recently, which is why he sold the body parts." JJ says

"His lack of social skills point to menial work, but his sophistication tells us he's more intelligent than we thought." Rossi tells him

"Just like Jeffrey Dahmer, he's also deranged, but he's learned from others' mistakes. He knows not to keep strong smells around too long, which is why he disposes of the torsos within a few days." Spencer adds

"There's a very good chance that he snapped because of serious rejection." Kate says

"If he finally got the guts to ask a woman out, he would have been clumsy and aggressive and she would have pushed him away." I mentioned

"It's why he got rid of all the things that symbolized intimacy. It's how his psychopathology developed." Aaron said

"But if this is about a girl that rejected him, why kill a guy first?" the detective asked

"He might be connected to the second victim." Aaron answered him

"But without their identities, we can't say for sure." JJ says to the Detective

"What about the revisiting? Can we catch him like that?"

"He's obsessive about these locations, but he's probably seen the surveillance." Aaron tells him

"Well, then, what will he do?" The detective asked him

"He'll find another victim."

* * *

" _You'd think after 10 years I'd seen it all."_ Garcia tell me, Morgan, Kate and Spencer over the phone

"How many sites are there, mama?" Morgan asked her

" _Hundreds. And that gem of a fellow you've got in custody has looked at all of them at one time or another. Anonymity is huge for these sites. They use a Tor network, which is an onion router. The point is, you're not gonna be able to find anyone this way. Do you know there are actual variations on a disarticulation fetish?"_ She says and sighs, _"I need baby kitten pics asap."_

"Oh, have you seen the hippo who lives with the family?" Kate asked her

"What?"

"Sleeps with a blanket, gets massages, eats better than I do." Kate said and I chuckled

"Where is that?" Garcia asked her

"South Africa. It's amazing."

"Trust me, I have an arsenal of cuteness. Have you seen the one with the baby elephant-" Garcia starts to say

"Oh, with the baby chicks? Yes, I love that one."

"Uh, hey, you guys?" Spencer says to them and they both apologize and I just shake my head smiling, "The most recent victim was taken from Riverside. That's more than 2 1/2 hours away from here."

"So his comfort zone isn't limited to here." Morgan mentioned

"That's not good. He's got a lot more confidence than we thought." I said

"He's leaving vics here, so he must have some connection to Bakersfield." Morgan inputted

"The M.E. says he's gotten better at ligating each victim, which means he may have had practice." Spencer adds

"On what?" Morgan asked him

"We didn't originally profile him as an acrotomophile, but that sort of attraction typically has deep roots in childhood."

"Maybe the unsub grew up around dead bodies, like a funeral home, so it wasn't that big of a leap for him." Kate says

"It could be. We know he wasn't social enough to continue the family tradition, so maybe he found work in a morgue or a hospital." Morgan agreed

"When you say work..." Garcia says

"Security guard, janitor, anything entry level." Kate answered her

"Uh, the UC system has a medical facility in Bakersfield."

"Anyone fired recently?" I asked

"No, but there's an anatomy Professor on sabbatical."

"Oh, what's his name?" Kate asked her

"Dylan Myers."

* * *

"So the real unsub killed Myers and then framed him." Morgan tells Aaron over the phone

" _But it's not just a countermeasure. He took out a lot of rage on this man for a reason"_

"Maybe this Dylan Myers stood in the way of the unsub's true object of affection." Spencer says

"Well, it makes sense since we thought the first and second victims were connected." Morgan adds

"Only Dylan Myers was single." I pointed out

" _Garcia, was Dylan Myers dating anyone?"_ Aaron asked her

" _He was a bit of a hermit, and like I said, zero social media skills, did go old school with a land line. Tracking his frequently called numbers. He called a young woman named Christine Locke several times. She's a former student, lives in Bakersfield. And she's missing. Sending you her picture now."_

" _She looks like the second victim."_ Kate says and I hold up my phone so me, Spencer and Morgan can see the picture

"Did she have a restraining order out on anyone?" Aaron asked

" _Checking now. Uh, yes. She filed for and was granted a restraining order on August 6 from a Steven Parkett."_ Garcia told him

" _And where is he?"_

" _Probably on his way to hell in a hand basket, sir. He was raised and lives at a cattle ranch and slaughterhouse in Bishopville just outside of Bakersfield. Sending you the coordinates now."_ Garcia says

* * *

"How many did you get?" JJ asked Kate sitting down across from her and i sat down next to JJ

"Uh, 10."

"Hmm. Well, uh, vitamin E oil helps with the scarring." JJ says

"Have you ever tried cocoa butter?" Kate asked her

"No."

"Yeah. 6 stitches inside, 8 out." Kate told us showing us her other arm, "Guy got through the tendon. Port authority."

"Tortured, last year. Good times." JJ tells her

"Car accident, concussion, shot, kidnapped, mild concussion, ." I said and Morgan sits down next to Kate

"Oh, and don't even get this guy started." JJ says

"What are we doing? Are we talking battle scars? Oh, yeah. I probably hold the record. So what are the rules? Are we just talking stitch counts, or we going full on with like broken ribs, pistol whips, concussions? Told you. You weren't kidding. Well, why don't we start with the most recent. Guy hit me in the arm. Same guy hit me twice in the chest, but I was wearing my vest, so I only ended up getting welts." He continues and JJ pulls the blanket up and rests her head against the side of the jet, "You see, these idiots, they think they can beat me, but they can't, so they at least try to hurt me, you know? What else? Oh, let's not forget when I got blindsided and thrown out a window. Welcome to the team, Callahan." He tell her and nudged her arm

"Thanks. Ow." She laughs, "Elizabeth can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead I'm an open book."

"When I was in Hotch's office before we came here I seen a few pictures of him and a little boy, and some with you him and the little boy, I was wondering.."She started

"Aaron's my brother, the little boy is my nephew Jack." I told her and she smiled nodding her head

"That must make this weird working."

I looked at Morgan and laughed, "Sometimes, but not as weird as it is working with your brother and your husband." I said and she looked at me confused, "Spencer." I tell her indicating behind me where he was sitting

"Oh, I guess I should have figured when I heard that your last name is Reid." She tells me and I smile, "So I'm assuming this is your first?" She asked indicating to my stomach and I nodded, "It must be killing you not being able to go out in the field."

"You have no Idea." I said to her and Morgan smiled at me

 **A/N: I love Jennifer Love Hewitt BTW, I was actually considering her for who I imagined Elizabeth being but then I would have had to find someone else for Kate, to much of a headache. Also I forgot to put this on my last chapter, I know I'm at 32 right now but when I posted the last chapter I was going to do a small little contest 31 chapters for 31 followers**

 **Basically I'm going to have you guys write a cute little scene between either Spencer and Elizabeth, Elizabeth and Jack, or Spencer and Aaron.**

 **PM me your scenes and I will pick one I like and give credit to whoever it is.**

 **Thank you again to everyone who loves this story.**


	33. Chapter 33

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **A/N: Attention all story readers, I'm giving you one more day (10/16/17) to submit to me a cute little moment you would like to see me add and all credit goes to you, look at the previous chapter for the moments I listed. Ta my darlings enjoy this chapter**

"Ugh!" I grumbled taking off my shirt and throwing it on the bed.

"What's wrong?" Spencer asked me walking into the bedroom closet

"None of my shirts are fitting anymore."

"Well sweetie you're 7 months pregnant, maybe it's time for some maternity clothes." He says and I look at him

"Why? It's so much easier to just by the next size up" I said and he puts his hands on my waist smirking, "Besides it doesn't matter what I wear anyways I still look like a fat weeble wobble"

"Stop, you're beautiful" He tells me then kisses me

"You're only saying that because we're married and I'm carrying your child."

"I'm saying it because it's true and because I love you." He says and I kiss him

"Thanks you baby"

"You're welcome" He says and kisses me again and I wrap my arms around his neck as he slides his tongue in my mouth, I moan and he moves me against the wall, it has been a few weeks since we've been intimate and it was driving me insane because my hormones made me want him even more then I normally do. As he was reaching under my shirt our phones went off, I grabbed mine and saw a text from Aaron, we had a case and were meeting at the airstrip.

"Duty calls" I tell him and he kissed me one more time

"We'll pick this up later."

"Promises, promises" I tease and we finished getting ready, grabbed our go bags, which mine was bigger now in case I went into labor, and we left.

* * *

"All right, let's go, Garcia." Aaron says as JJ and Kate get on the jet

 _"Trans Alliance flight 420 just crashed in a Colorado field northwest of Durango."_ She tells us and my heart stopped

"Any survivors?" Kate asked and I saw her body language shift

"152 passengers, all presumed dead." Aaron told her

"Where was it coming from?" Morgan asked Garcia

 _"Pittsburgh. It was going to Phoenix."_

"So it happened in mid-flight? The plane just fell out of the sky?" JJ asked

"That's highly unusual. 80% of plane crashes happen within 3 minutes of takeoff or 8 minutes of landing." Spencer told us from the seat away from me

"Well, an early call came into local law enforcement from a witness who said he saw "a streak of light" in the sky just before the crash." Garcia mentioned

"Surface-to-air missile." Morgan brought up

"We've been asked to determine if there was a crime. And if so, give the profile of the offender." Rossi brought up

"We'll be working with a joint task force. Everyone's on their way to the crash site now." Aaron tells us

 _"I know flying's safer, but I still wish you were driving. Safe travels. Call me when you get there."_ Garcia said and hung up

* * *

"It's uncanny, really. Colorado emergency management just turned this old armory into a readiness center last year." Hosswell tells me Aaron and Rossi as we walked into the command center

"It'll save setup time." Aaron points out and I smile

"Commander Reardon, these are agents Hotchnner, Rossi and Elizabeth from the BAU." Hosswell introduced and we all shook her hand, "Commander Reardon's from Homeland Security."

"Pleasure." She says, "I'm hearing rumors about a survivor. Is that true?" Reardon asked Hosswell

"Yes, the copilot Frank Canvers."

"Where is he now?" I asked

"In the hospital. He's in bad shape, as you'd expect."

"I'll text Morgan and JJ to head there. Reid and Kate can stay at the crash site." Rossi tells Aaron pulling out his phone

"So this has become a search and rescue mission?" Aaron asked

"Canvers survival was a fluke, a miracle, even. Unfortunately, I don't think we'll find any others. Let me fill you in on the latest. Trans Alliance flight 420, originating from Pittsburgh International at 1300 Zulu, scheduled to arrive at Phoenix Sky Harbor at 1710. The first call received about a downed aircraft was at 1608." Hosswell tells us

"The scheduled flight path doesn't cross over this part of Colorado." Rossi pointed out to him

"No. The plane was off course by 150 miles."

"Did the pilots know that?" Reardon asked him

"It's unclear. Regional air traffic controllers lost communication with the plane 13 minutes before the crash. They could have covered that distance during that time."

"Any sign of mechanical trouble?" Aaron asked

"Unclear again. 10 minutes after they lost communication, the ACARS data reporting system shut down or was turned off. Uneventful takeoff and flight, though, until the incident."

"So as of now, everything's still on the table." Rossi stated

"Our top priority should be ruling out terrorism, though." Reardon said

"Yes. We need the passenger manifest as soon as possible in order to start doing background checks on everybody aboard." Aaron tells her

"Where's the witness who saw the flash of light in the sky?" I asked

"In one of the back offices. Local law enforcement brought him in about 10 minutes ago." Hosswell answered

"Has he been debriefed?" Aaron asked him

"No."

"Good. No one should talk to him but my team or commander Reardon." Aaron told him

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"The plane broke up into 5 main sections. The two wings, the aft hull and tail, the forward hull and cockpit, which we have here." The man from NTSB after I see Kate pick up a toy truck from the ground

"How large is the spread?" I asked him

"About a half mile. That means the plane broke up before impact."

"Have you found the digital flight data recorder yet?" I asked

"We're still searching. It might have been driven deep into the ground after impact. The good news is the DFDR and the cockpit voice recorder are in a single unit, so we're only looking for one black box." He tells me

"Where was the copilot found?"

"About 20 yards that way. Excuse me." He says and walked away

"You've been quiet." I say to Kate

"Sorry."

"You know, a disaster of this magnitude is really hard to wrap your mind around, let alone your feelings." I tell her

"You don't need to worry about me." She said looking back at the wreck then at me again, "What, are you gonna profile me now?" She asked me

"It's hard to turn it off sometimes."

"I guess I should just tell you this. Hotch and Rossi already know. My sister and brother-in-law died in 9/11. They were working at the Pentagon." She says to me, now I felt like a jerk

"So sorry. I can imagine this must obviously bring back a lot of painful memories." I said to her

"Yeah. Anyway, I don't want to do that weepy Agent with the tragic past, so you don't have to walk on eggshells around me." She mentioned walking past me and I caught up with her

"Elizabeth was kidnapped and almost killed in front of me, and my mom has schizophrenia, since we're sharing." I told her

"Thanks for letting me know. After my sister died, I adopted all 10 of her kids."

"Wow." I tell her with shock

"I'm kidding." She says and we both laugh, "They had a baby girl, Meg. We took her in. Actually, Chris and I moved into their house. Anyway, she's 13 and the light of my life."

"Oh, she sounds terrific."

"Yeah, she is. Maybe I could bring her by so you can meet her sometime." She says to me

"I would really like that." I tell her as we reached what was left of the cockpit

"This must have been the copilot seat." She points out

"That means the plane came from that way. You know, it's possible the metal attaching the chair got caught in the power lines. It could have slowed his descent." I brought up

"A series of minor bumps instead of one big crash- it's the only way he would have survived." She says and I notice something, "What is it?"

"Vomit. Passengers threw up before the crash." I tell her

"Sorry about that." The man from NTSB says to us walking over then we see news vans pull up, "Oh, great. The hardest thing about this investigation will be staying ahead of the media and all the stupid conspiracy theories."

"Let the games begin." Kate says

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

 _"This rural area just north of Durango, Colorado is now a disaster scene..."_ The reporter on the TV said as I stood there watching it, my heart was hurting so bad for these peoples families

"He knows who did it, but he won't tell us. The guy's a whackadoodle." Reardon tells Aaron as they come out of the back office and I stood there and listened

"Well, unfortunately we can't dismiss him yet."

"The fact is, no one else has come forward with a similar statement." She says

"That's because the population is so sparse out here. We should be grateful for that." Aaron tells her

"You're right. Can you get him to talk?"

"I can try. But I should probably do it alone. I think he has a problem with you." Aaron tells her

"My race or my gender?" She asked him

"Probably both."

"Wonderful. As long as you can get some answers, be my guest" She tells him and she walks away, Aaron looked at me, I gave a small smile as he walked away and headed back into the room

* * *

"If a MANPAD, a shoulder launched surface-to-air missile were used, we're looking at a target acquisition range of 6 miles. Factor that into the plane's forward momentum as it's coming down and we're left with this area right here." Spencer tells me, Hosswell and Rossi then circles a part on the map

"MANPADs are cheap and plentiful on the black market. You can get one for a few hundred bucks." Rossi tells Hosswell

"I thought only planes closer to the ground were vulnerable."

"True. Mo heat-seeking missiles have a maximum range of 20,000 feet. Large systems like the Buk which took down Malaysia Air 17 are hard to get and require expertise." Rossi points out

"You know, it's possible the plane was brought down to 20,000 feet to get it into manpad target range." Spencer says

"That would mean a hijacker was on board." Hosswell said

"That could account for the missing 13 minutes of communication." I added

"If there were a hijacker, he had at least one partner on the ground." Spencer brought up

"Guess who drew the short straw." Rossi mentioned

"Depends on if you believe suicide is the gateway to paradise or not." Spencer says

"Has anyone been red-flagged on the passenger manifest?" Hosswell asked

"Not yet." Rossi told him

"If a terrorist cell is responsible, this is just the beginning." Spencer said

* * *

I was sitting at the table looking at some papers when Spencer sets a cup of water in front of me and I looked up at him, "Thank you baby" I tell him and he kissed my head then sat down next to me, just then I winced and held my side

"What is it are you okay?" He asked me

"Yeah, the baby kicked just kicked is all" I tell him and he looks at my stomach, "Do you wanna feel? I know you've been kind of hesitant about it lately."

"It's just weird." He says and I gave a small smile and looked back down at my paper and felt the baby kick again and I grabbed my side, just then I feel Spencer put his hand next to mine and I looked at him, after a couple seconds the baby kicked again but this time it was a little harder and he looked at me, "Is it always that hard?"

"Not really, I guess your child knows when you're around." I tell him and he smiled, "You know in a couple of months we're going to have to stop calling the baby an it right?"

"You're the one that wanted to wait until the baby was born to know the sex."

"It makes it a even bigger surprise." I say to him and he chuckled

"True but it also makes it harder to plan the theme of the baby room." He says and I roll my eyes

"That's why we planned on doing a gender neutral room."

He leaned over and kissed my cheek, "As long as our baby is healthy that's all that matters to me." He said and I smiled

"Good answer"

* * *

"Guys, these are the construction blueprints for the airplane." Spencer tells the others as they walk over, "I compared it to the way the plane broke apart, and I think I may have found something interesting. The hull of an airplane is really just a bunch or round barrels riveted together. The wing, however, is a masterpiece. It's the most physically complicated component of an airplane. Nearly 200 feet long, it bears the weight of the entire aircraft and is shaped precisely to fit within a hundredth of an inch. The curvature of the wing is what gives it its lift. Air rushes faster over the top, creating a vacuum, which sucks the wing upward and in turn the entire fuselage. This is important because an airplane wants to be nose-up. It creates positive Gs, that sensation you get when you're forced to the back of your seat. Negative Gs, on the other hand, are an entirely different matter. When the nose of a plane begins pitching downward, you get negative Gs, which puts enormous pressure on the structural integrity of the aircraft. With enough negative Gs, the wings will start to rip off the plane, which then compromises the fuselage. The plane broke into major pieces along structural joints and attachment points. There's no evidence of gaping holes or pieces of the fuselage torn in areas without seams to suggest impact with an external object like a missile. So the fact is, the way the plane broke apart, I think the crash was caused by something internal."

"So are we talking about some sort of explosive decompression, like on TWA flight 800?" JJ asked him

"A massive explosion would have resulted in pieces of fuselage the size of a carry-on."

"That rules out a hijacker with a bomb as well." Rossi says

"Wait a minute. A hijacker would certainly explain the 13 minutes of lost communication. Maybe he drove the plane into the ground." Reardon said

"Or the passengers did. This could be the start of another 9/11." Kate says and I see her look at Rossi

"If that were the case, I'd suspect a faster cascade of events. Still, we can't rule it out." Aaron mentioned

"The reality is, there are at least 50 reasons for lost communication." Hosswell brought up

"Such as?" Reardon asked him

"As stuck mike, an air traffic controller sending the wrong frequency to an aircraft. The average amount of time for lost communication is 7 1/2 minutes."

"And we have to remember the transponder was still working. No secret code to indicate a hijacking or any other emergency was sent." I told them

"Let's think about this. The ACARS data recording system was turned off." Morgan pointed out

"And that would have to come from someone in control of the flight systems." Aaron added

"So something happened in the cockpit. That makes it the pilot and/or the copilot the most likely candidates." Rossi says

"Their background checks came back clear." Reardon told him

"What about suicide?" Morgan asked

"You mentioned a slats deployment mid-air." JJ says to Hosswell, "You said it was very rare. But if it did happen, how would it happen?"

"Pilot error or intention."

* * *

"Ok, let me get this straight. The way the plane broke up proves there was no missile. The crash was caused by something internal. But the pilot and copilot have been cleared, so that means someone from the ground hacked into the plane's computers?" Reardon asked us

"It makes sense with the data from the black box." Aaron tells her

"Guys, that's a bit of a reach." Hosswell tells us

"Boeing has expressed concerns about in-flight entertainment systems and USB connections that could give hackers access to a plane's computer." Spencer told him

Hack in the box, Amsterdam, April 2013. A security consultant from Germany demonstrated how an airliner could be hacked using a smartphone app that he developed." Rossi mentioned

"That test was only on pilot training software. There's no proof it could happen in real life." Hosswell defended

"And we all know how forthcoming the FAA would be if something like that could really happen." Rossi tells him

"So, what, this unsub just blew the plane by remote control?" Reardon asked

"We've seen it before with a helicopter." Spencer told her, I didn't want to remember that, I almost lost my brother and the love of my life at the same time

"How do we know it wasn't a crew member or a passenger?" Reardon asked us

"We know for sure that no one else was in the cockpit. And it would be hard to fly by remote control in a cabin for 13 minutes and remain unseen. Not to say that the unsub isn't connected to someone on the flight." I told her

"Who would do something like this?"

"A mass annihilator, someone who enjoys playing God or some other deity." Rossi told her

"We're no longer looking for a terrorist. We're looking for a serial killer who wants to eradicate life on a large scale." Spencer points out

"And he's not going to want to stop with this plane. We need to advise the president to ground all flights immediately." Aaron added

* * *

"The media's talking more about equipment failure now." Morgan says as me, him, JJ and Rossi watch the news

"Good to know some things go according to plan. Hopefully the unsub will poke his head up." Rossi told us and Morgan's phone rang

"Hey, baby girl, what do you got?" He asked her

 _"Kristina Morrow went on a blind date with an aerospace engineer 8 years ago. You're gonna ask me how I know that, and I'm gonna tell you it's because she posted about the world's worst blind date on Facebook."_

"Who is this guy?" I asked

 _"His name's Hayman Vasher, and shortly after this wildly unromantic and awkward dinner, he quit his job and dropped out of society, like completely."_

"The way Ted Kaczynski did?" JJ asked her

 _"Oh, call them twins. Both math geniuses, social outcasts, anarchist views. However, Vasher not anti-technology. When he was still online, he posted a lot about his affinity for Oppenheimer."_

"Now the quote makes complete sense. If he admires Oppenheimer, then he wants to destroy the masses in the same way. This is his version of the atomic bomb." Rossi pointed out

"Wait a minute. All of this was just to get back at a girl who rejected him?" Morgan asked

"Doubtful. She was probably the trigger that made him drop out of society, but I'm guessing if he was solely focused on her, he would have struck sooner." I told him

 _"Did I say affinity for Oppenheimer? 'Cause I'm finding out more things. I'm gonna take that back and call it full-blown obsession. He analyzed how Oppenheimer went from being a socially awkward scientist to a revered and powerful man through intellectual achievement."_ Garcia tells us

"Vasher wants to transform the same way, so for the last 8 years he's probably been working on his hacking software." Morgan pointed out

"He just perfected it and needed a test case. So why not use Kristina's flight." Rossi adds

 _"She posted a lot about her trip on social media. She was going to a sorority reunion in Phoenix."_ Garcia says

"I'm guessing he crashed the plane here because it was in range to hack into the flight system and take control." JJ brought up

"And he wanted it to crash nearby so he could witness it." Morgan adds

"It's sparsely populated here. If something did go wrong with the test, less attention is drawn. But if this is his Trinity site, where's his Hiroshima?" Rossi referenced

* * *

"No luck with David Marshak and his crew. They claim they never heard of Hayman Vasher or anyone fitting his description." Rossi says to me, Spencer and Aaron as him and Kate walk over to us

"We may have to go door to door." Kate suggested

"I know it looks empty, but 28 square miles is a lot of ground to cover." Aaron said

"There's also an extensive cave system in this region." Spencer added

"You know, we talked about this crash being a test. Now, assuming he wanted total destruction, you could say he failed." Rossi mentioned

"The copilot survived." Aaron tells him

"Exactly. It probably wounded Vasher's ego."

"The unexpected thing that'll make him break protocol." Aaron pointed out

"So it's possible he made contact with the copilot. Maybe a death threat?" Kate asked

"Do we have a rundown yet of all the emails and phone calls made to the copilot and his family?" Spencer asked us

"Garcia was looking into it." Aaron told him

"I've just spoken to the president. Based on your profile, we're concerned the next crash will be in a populated area, and the president agrees. He's just given the order to scramble F-16s. If we have to, we will shoot this plane down." Reardon tells us walking over

* * *

"If the unsub wants to witness this plane crash, there's not a lot of time left. He just entered Colorado airspace." Hosswell tells us

"That only leaves about 10 more minutes if he wants to crash it into the same area." Rossi says

"Witnessing it may not now be as important as making a larger statement." Aaron asked

"What's the nearest high-profile target?" Kate asked Hosswell

"Well...There's Montezuma Speedway, Glenwood water park- oh, God. There's a big football game going on right now at Lewison College. And there's a great view of the stadium from Tower Hill."

"Start evacuating it now." Aaron tells him and he leaves then Aaron answers his phone, "Go ahead, Garcia."

 _"Before you ask, of course I tried to hack into IA61's flight system and I can't get in. It's like Vasher built his own electronic fortress. The only way it's gonna work is if someone physically destroys his system."_

"Have you looked at everyone who's made contact with the copilot?" Rossi asked her

 _"Yeah, and they're all friends and family of passengers except for two. One is a known conspiracy theorist from Oregon. The other is from Colorado. It's a hang-up call to his hospital room."_

"Let me guess-it's from a prepaid cell phone?" I asked

 _"Yep. But I just got the coordinates the call originated from and I'm sending them to you now."_

"Dave, you, Reid, and JJ head to Tower Hill. The rest of us will go to the coordinates, Elizabeth..." Aaron says

"I know I know stay here." I tell him and they left, man I hated not being out there.

* * *

"Agent Hotchner, IA61 just changed course. It's back on a direct heading to D.C." Hosswell tells Aaron over the radio as we all stood there monitoring the plane and I of course was chewing on my nail.

 _"He must have radar tracking. He knows the fighter jets are closing in."_ Aaron says

 _"Well, it doesn't get more high profile than the nation's capital."_ Morgan added

 _"So Washington is his Hiroshima. It makes sense in a twisted way."_ Rossi pointed out

 _"How long till he gets there?"_ Kate asked

 _"Assuming the last known airspeed, about two hours."_ Spencer told her

 _"He can't possibly think we'd let the plane get there."_ JJ said

 _"No, but there's a lot of communities and targets in between."_ Rossi tells her

"The hard question is when to shoot that plane down." I told them, both Hosswell and Reardon looked at me but I continued looking at the screen

* * *

"Stand by for my command. If they drop below 10,000 feet, get ready to fire." Reardon commanded and my heart sank

 _"Roger that."_

* * *

"Understood. Red Hawk 5, pull back. I repeat, pull back." Reardon told the jets and I glanced at her with my heart racing

 _"Roger that. Pulling back."_

* * *

"He's dead. Any contact with the plane?" Reardon asked Hosswell

"Still no word. I don't see anything on radar. They must have dropped below range."

"Red Hawk 5, do you have visual confirmation?" Reardon asked the jet pilot

 _"Negative. I have no visual confirmation."_

"Keep searching." She told them

"Come on. Somebody talk to me." Hosswell said as we looked at the screen

After a long pause a voice came over the radio, "This is IA61. We just made an emergency landing. Over." The pilot said and we all started cheering, Reardon put her hand on my shoulder as I sighed in relief

"Good job, everybody." Hosswell tells everyone and looked at me, "That's one hell of a team you got there." He tells me and I smile

"You have no idea."

* * *

Me, Spencer, JJ and Kate stood at a fence by the crash site and we all laid flowers down, Spencer puts his arm around my waist and kissed my head, I looked at him and gave a sad smile as a tear fell out of my eye which he wiped away. I looked over at Kate who continued looking at the field, I reached out and grabbed her hand and she looked at me, we both smiled at each other then me, Spencer and JJ walked away as her phone rang.

* * *

After arriving home me and Spencer sat on the couch cuddled up together in front of the fireplace, we didn't talk, we just looked at the fire, my heart broke for the families who lost loved ones on that plane, we may not have been able to save them, but at least we saved 301 others who would have lost their lives.

 _We knew the world would not be the same. Some people laughed. A few people cried. Most people were silent._ ~ J. Robert Oppenheimer.


	34. Chapter 34

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Can you hand me that?" I asked Spencer pointing to the frosting I had made

"How are the cookies coming?"

"Slowly, I'm fighting the urge to eat them all." I tell him and he puts his hands on my waist from behind me

"So Mrs. Reid, do you want a trick? Or a treat?" He asked in my ear then kissed my neck, I giggled turning around and kissing him on the lips

"Well Dr. Reid I think I'll take a treat." I tell him and he kissed me passionately then suddenly our phones went off, I grabbed mine and looked at it, "But sadly duty calls"

* * *

"Oh, my fighters of crime, I hate to call us all in on this Eve of all Hallows Eves, but there are wicked things afoot. Last Halloween, 11-year-old Joshua Parker disappeared in San Diego." Garcia tells us then suddenly the lights went out, "Uh-oh."

"Generator should kick in." Aaron tells us then it kicked on

"That was spooky." Spencer says, "Joshua Parker- that name isn't in any of our missing children case files. What do we know about him?" He asked

"Chronic runaway and disciplinary problems. San Diego P.D. never classified it as an abduction." Aaron tells him

"This morning, Joshua turned up in a pumpkin patch 10 miles from where he was last seen." Garcia adds

"I know this case. Same thing happened in L.A. last year." Kate pointed out

"Yeah, that would be Tommy Wilcox, 10 years old. He was found at Venice Beach on October 30." Garcia told her

"He went missing the previous Halloween, too."

"Yeah. And he died a few hours after they got him to the hospital." Garcia says

"I thought they caught that guy. He had a bunch of stalker pics of the boy, didn't he?" I asked

"Yeah, he confessed and plead guilty." Morgan added

"Yes and yes. That would be Rodney Tanner, pedophile sex offender, all-around icky person, currently residing at Chino state prison." Garcia said

"So what do we have, a copycat or a coincidence?" Morgan asked

"We also need to consider the possibility of there being a partner." Spencer mentioned

"How's the Parker kid doing?" Rossi asked Garcia

"He's physically stable, but he's vacillating between catatonic and completely freaked out."

"So I'm guessing he's not talking much." Kate says

"If the pattern holds, another boy will go missing tomorrow night." JJ points out

"And we're headed to San Diego to prevent that from happening. Weather permitting, wheels up in 30." He tells us, I slowly stood up and Aaron walked over to me, "I want you to stay here and help Garcia." He says and I look at him confused

"Why?"

"Because you are do any day down and I would rather have you here in case that happens." He says and I rolled my eyes

"Alright," I tell him and he left, Spencer walked up to me and I gave him a kiss, "Be safe."

"You too" He replied and left

"To the lair oh wise one." I tell her and she giggled as we made our to her office

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Thank you for waiting." The doctor tells me and JJ as she walked up to us, "Well, his physical prognosis is actually quite good. He's exhausted and slightly dehydrated, but somebody made sure he ate, maybe even gave him vitamin supplements."

"Were his muscles atrophied by any chance?" I asked her

"Yes. Badly. He's going to need physical therapy, but in time he should make a full recovery."

"What about splinters and puncture wounds? Any sign of those?" I asked

"Yes. Both."

"When do you think he might be able to talk to us?" JJ asked her

"Uh, no time soon, I'm afraid. It's his mental state that concerns me. He's sedated now, but when he first came in, he was unable to communicate and extremely agitated."

"How so?" I asked

"He was violent, tried to escape several times, kept screaming, "let me out, let me out." We restrained him and that only made things worse. I can't even imagine what he's been through. Excuse me for a moment?" She tells us and walked away

"Let me out. What was he in?"

"A box. A wooden one, and I'm guessing it wasn't very big." I told her

"Makes sense. Splinters, no physical activity. What about the puncture wounds?"

"Nails. The box was probably homemade."

We make our way out of the hospital and pass y the maternity ward, I stopped and looked at all the newborns in the bassinets they were in, JJ walks up to me and puts her hand on my shoulder, "You okay?"

"Yeah, just thinking about Liz, she's due any day now." I told her and she rubbed my back

"Are you scared?" She asked me

"Completely, I don't want to end up disappointing my child."

"Spence you could never disappoint anyone, especially not your child, trust me I know. Your child is going to grow up with 2 parents who love each other so much, would do anything for each other and who love him or her more then anything." She says and I smile at her

"I'm also scared that if something happens to me or Liz on cases, we've come close so many times I just..."

"You guys made a promise to each other that no matter what you would come back to each other, make that same promise to your child. Will and I promised each other that Henry would never be without one of us, if it gets to close to him losing either one of us Will and I would decide to call it, throw in the towel and be done with all the danger." She says and looks at the babies, "Have you guys thought about who is going to take care of the baby when Elizabeth comes back?"

"She wants to hire a nanny who is available 24/7, I suggested a live in one but she doesn't want to for...obvious reasons." I tell her and she smiles, "She thought about asking Jessica ut she already has her hands full with Jack and her job."

"Well 24 hour nannies are hard to find, and I agree with Elizabeth on the live in one, unless you had her live in the pool house you guys have."

"JJ that's it, we barely use that thing and it's big enough for the nanny to live in." I said and hugged her, "Thank you" I told her and she patted my back

"Anytime Spence."

* * *

"Just got off the phone with Morgan. Tanner didn't take either of those boys and he doesn't have a partner. He was attention seeking." Rossi tells me and JJ as him and Hotch walked over

"So it's a single unsub." I pointed out

"Wow. A pedophile willing to go to prison just for some spotlight. Talk about desperate." JJ says

"The glory of stolen thunder." Rossi brought up

"The ego's a powerful motivator. What's the status on Joshua Parker?" Hotch asked us

"He's still sedated." I told him

"Even if he weren't, he's in pretty bad shape mentally. I doubt he'd be able to give us much." JJ added

"Excuse me, agents. We got our street patrols doubled and the press is ready for a statement." The detecive says walking over

"Good. Time to get the word out." Hotch says and walks away and I follow

"It's gonna be dark soon." Rossi mentioned

* * *

"We're canvassing the entire area. Hopefully he doesn't get far." I hear the detective tell Morgan as I look at the garage door

"All right, keep us posted."

"Nobody saw anything." JJ tells them

"Even if they did, it's Halloween. He could be in costume. We could be looking for Sponge Bob for all we know."

I hear JJ whistle, "Hello over there. Share, please."

"Hey, kid, speak your mind." Morgan told me

"The transcripts." I tell them walking over, "Sorry, the transcripts of the police interview with the first victim's mother, Charlotte Wilcox, I read them."

"And?" JJ asked me

"Mrs. Wilcox, do you remember anything unusual about the night Tommy disappeared? No, nothing. Are you absolutely sure? There's nothing. Anything might help. I don't know. Toilet paper maybe. Sorry, ma'am? I went to the store to buy toilet paper and when I got back I couldn't find it. But what could that have to do with anything? Oh, god, I can't believe this is happening."

"Tommy took the toilet paper. He was out Tping houses." Morgan pointed out

"Hunter Olson was egging houses." Rossi added

"Joshua Parker had disciplinary problems. Bad boys all around." JJ says

"We should deliver the profile." Morgan tells us and we walk away but my phone rings, it was Garcia

"Hey Garcia what's up?"

* * *

"Hotch I need to talk to you." I tell him running over and he looked at me

"What's going on?" He asked me and the others looked over

"Liz is on her way to the hospital, Garcia said she started having contractions an hour ago."

"Are you serious?" Morgan asked me

"Why would I joke about that?" I asked and he smiled shaking his head

"You need to be there, I'll have them prep the jet for you." Hotch tells me

"What about..."

"Reid, don't worry about it we can handle the case, go be with Liz." Hotch says and I smile at him then grab my bag, everyone wished me good luck and I left

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Why did the contractions have to start now?" I asked Jessica as she stood next to me rubbing my shoulder and Jack sat in the chair by the window playing his game, I had Garcia call her to meet us at the hospital so she could focus on the case.

"Because babies are unpredictable, remember how Haley had Jack 3 days after her due date?" She asked me and I smiled

"Oh she was so pi..angry" I said looking at Jack then another contraction hit, "Ow ow ow ow."

"Breathe, breathe you're ok." She says and I took deep breaths and the contraction went away

"Thank you for being here Jessica"

"Of course, it's not a problem, it's my nephew after all." She tells me and I smile

"I just hope Spencer gets here in time."

"Aaron told me he was on his way to the jet and that he will call me when he lands." She reassured me and I nodded my head.

* * *

After a few more painful contractions they told me it was time for the epidural, after that was in I laid in the hospital bed, the contractions felt more like spasms now but still kind of hurt a little.

"Alright shall we see how close you are now?" The doctor asked me walking into the room with a nurse and Jessica stepped out with Jack, the doctor put on gloves and started checking how dilated I was, "Well you're almost at 10, we'll start getting everything prepped."

"No wait my husband isn't here yet." I told him

"I'm sorry Elizabeth but once you reach 10 you're going to have to start pushing."

"But..."

"I'm here, I'm here." Spencer says rushing into the room, "Sorry I'm late" He tells me and kissed my head

"It's ok, although I was worried I was gonna have to do this by myself." I tell him with a smile

"I would never let you do this by yourself" He says and I kissed him

"Alright are you two ready to become parents?" The doctor asked us, he sat on the chair in front of me and told me to start pushing.

* * *

 **Aaron POV...**

I was sitting on the jet after it came back for us reading over the case we finished, I looked out the window at the sunrise and my phone beeped, it was a message from Liz. I opened it and smiled then got up walking over to the others and woke JJ up then showed them all the picture Liz sent. Morgan clapped me on the back, JJ and Kate hugged me and Rossi shook my hand.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I sat in the bed holding my baby with Spencer sitting in the chair next to me when there was a knock at the door, I looked up and saw Aaron standing there with the others behind him.

"May we come in?" He asked quietly, I nodded my head and they all came into the room, Aaron shook Spencer's hand and the others hugged him, Aaron came and stood next to me, "How are you doing?"

"Exhausted." I laughed and he smiled, I looked at the others, "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Alexander Aaron Reid" I told them introducing them to mine and Spencer's son

"He is so adorable" JJ says and everyone congratulated me

"May I hold him?" Aaron asked me and I smiled

"Of course" I said and he bent down taking his nephew from my arms

"Has Jack met him yet?" He asked and I nodded my head

"He's so excited to have a cousin." I tell him and looked at Spencer, he nodded his head and looked at everyone else

"How about we give them a minute" He tells them and they nod their heads and walked out, Spencer followed them shutting the door behind him

"So me and Spencer were talking..."

"He can take a few weeks off with you if that's what you're wondering." He tells me and I laughed

"Well thanks but that wasn't it." I say and he looked at me confused, "We want you to be Alexander's godfather." I say to him and he smiles

"I would be honored."

"Of course you'll have to share duties with JJ" I mentioned and he chuckled, he handed Alexander back to me and kissed me on the head

"Congratulations little sis." He says

"Thank you big brother."

 **A/N: I know it's short I'm sorry, future chapters though are going to be in Spencer's POV until Elizabeth is done with maternity leave. Also once again if you would like to submit a cute scene to be put in here please PM it to me. Thank you guys for reading I hope you enjoyed this chapter**


	35. Chapter 35

**The Beauty and the Geek**

I stood in the living room looking at a picture of myself as a little boy with my parents, "Did you call your father and tell him that he has his first grandchild?" I heard Hotch ask me snapping me out of my thoughts

"I haven't thought about it because I know that he would think that he would deserve to be in my life again so he can be part of his grandchild's life after leaving me when I was 10 years old in a dangerous situation." I told him before taking a deep breath, "If he finds out that I got shot in the neck he would tell me that I should leave the BAU and go into the private sector."

"Your father is the only surviving grandfather that your child will have, and with what happened in Texas you should think about reconnecting with him." He said putting his hand on my shoulder

"I'll think about it."

"Dinners ready!" We hear Liz call from the kitchen, we walked into the room as Jack was finishing setting up the plates.

"Can I sit by you Uncle Spence?" Jack asked me and I saw Liz smile

"Sure buddy"

"So how is it going with the nanny search?" Hotch asked Liz

"Harder then I thought it was going to be, we found a few that are available 24/7 but no one who wants to move in to the pool house, which I understand their hesitation, having to move out of where they live to move into a pool house in some strange married couples back yard."

"Couldn't find anyone who lived close to you?" He asked

"We haven't gotten any so far." I told him

"Well I'm sure you will find someone." Hotch reassured us

"I guess if nothing else I'll just become a stay at home mom" Liz says looking at Alexander who was in his bounce seat next to her

* * *

"So I see here that you would always be on call?" Liz asked the nanny we were interviewing

"That's right, I've read about you guys and what you do, I know the schedule is unpredictable and being as I really have no social life I would be here whenever you needed me." The lady tells us

"Okay, and where do you live?" Liz asked and the lady looked confused, "I only ask if you are close or 5 minutes away or.."

"Oh I see, I'm actually right down the street with my grandparents." The lady says and Liz smiles

"Okay since you seem to good to be true you wouldn't mind if we did a background check would you?" Liz asked her

"Oh sure not a problem."

"Do you have anything to asked Spence?" She asked me and I looked at her and back at the lady

"I think you pretty much covered it."

"Okay then, we will get back to you and if the background check comes back good we'll talk. Now you won't actually start for 2 weeks because I'm still on maternity leave." Liz told her and she nodded

"Well I'm available whenever you need me." The lady says to her and they stand up

"I'll walk you out." After I heard the door close Liz walks back into the living room walking up to me, "Am I just crazy or was she to good to be true?" She asked me and I smiled wrapping my arms around her waist

"You're not crazy, well maybe a little," I said with a smile and she smacked my chest, "But you are my kind of crazy and I love you. We'll know more about her once Garcia looks her up."

She kissed me and smiled, "I just...with our job and what we've seen you can never be to careful, makes me paranoid."

"I know sweetie," I say to her and kissed her back, "So since you just laid Alexander down, how about a little mommy and daddy time." I suggested and she wraps her arms around my neck

"Are you suggesting what I think you are?" She asked and I moved my lips to her neck kissing it then brought my lips to her ear

"Yes I am " I whisper in her ear and she misses my lips and I walk us towards the bedroom

* * *

"Do you have to go back to work?" Liz asked me as I was buttoning up my shirt, I looked over at her in the bed wearing nothing but the comforter, I really didn't want to leave, I wanted to crawl back into that bed with her.

"As much as I don't want to my parent leave has ended."

She looks at me and pouts, "Alright, I guess I have to let my sexy husband go save the day." She says and bites her lip, god she knows how much I love that.

I walked over to her and pulled her into a passionate kiss, "You are going to make me late if you continue your teasing wife."

"What teasing would that be," She says as she runs her hand down my chest, "Dr. Reid?"

"Screw it." I said and pushed her back onto the bed and kissed her before having my way with her again. This woman is so hard to resist

* * *

I walked into the round room and sat down next to Rossi, "Hey, how's Elizabeth doing?"

"She's good" I answered and JJ walked in sitting down on the other side of him

"And Alexander?" He asked me, I pulled out my phone and pulled up the picture I took of him, "Wow, he looks like you."

"Liz thinks so too, I however see lots of her in him."

"Stubborn and strong willed?" Hotch asked me and I smiled

"That too." I tell him and he smiled, I put my phone away and noticed JJ had a wrap on her right hand

"Where are we flying to this time, mama?" Morgan asked Garcia as him and Kate walked in

"Boulder City, Nevada, my vision, home of the Hoover Dam, because police there found the body of a woman, wrapped and weighed down in the water. He apparently likes to freeze."

"I.D. yet?" Rossi asked

"No, unfortunately."

"How long was she in the water?" Kate asked

"Unclear. Her popsicle-ness made it hard to determine an M.O."

"Are we sure this is the unsub and not just exposure?" Morgan asked

"Her blood was frozen in her veins. Temperatures in the area don't get cold enough for that." Hotch replied

"Hoover Dam is not that far from Vegas. Could this be a hit man?" Rossi asks

"No marks on her, though. Hitmen usually leave evidence of an efficient kill." Kate tells him

"No, he did leave a mark." JJ pointed out to her

"Where?"

"Breastbone, above the heart. It's not frostbite. That's an electrical burn." JJ says

"Why introduce electroshock to the M.O.?" Morgan asked

"Believe it or not, hypothermia is a rather pleasant way to die. The cold just kind of puts you to sleep." I tell them

"He wants to prolong what he's doing, so he jolts her back awake." JJ adds

"How did you catch all that?" Kate asked her

"I've seen it before."

* * *

"Still no I.D. of the victim?" Rossi asked Hotch who was sitting next to me on the jet

"Garcia's running her markers through ViCAP."

"This unsub went through a lot of trouble wrapping and weighing the body down. Usually it's postmortem gas production that brings a body to the surface, but if you freeze it, it'll rise to the top like ice cubes in a drink." I mentioned

"So he's smart enough to consider the possibility, but not experienced enough to effectively execute the disposal. It's probably his first kill." Morgan points out

"If he went through this much trouble to hide the body, he knows it can be tied back to him." JJ says flipping through photos on her tablet

"Should be easy to find him once we learn who she is." Kate added

"That'll be our first objective when we land. We should also build a suspect pool based on boat ownership. How many boats are there on Lake Mead?" Hotch asked me

"1,908."

"Come on. You just know that?" Kate asked

"Yeah. There are 1,908 boats on Lake Mead." I tell her

"Where did you get that number?" She asked me

"Based on the population density of the area, I...estimated."

"You guessed. I mean, is this guy really a genius, or does he just say things with authority and we all believe him?" She asked looking around at the others

"Oh, wow. Thank you." Morgan says to her and gives her a fist bump, "10 years. It took 10 years for someone to finally have my back. All right, Einstein, she just called you out. Bring it." Morgan tells me

"Look it up."

"I am..." Rossi says looking at his phone, "And the kid's right." He tells them and Morgan sighed as I smiled

"I accept your apology." I say to Kate then look at Morgan holding my fist up, "Blow it up."

"Never." He says and I put my fist down, I hear Hotch psst me and he holds up his fist and I bumped it

* * *

"Cloth fibers under her fingernails match her own torn clothing." JJ points out as we lean down looking at the body

"Paradoxical undressing. When your core temperature reaches 85 degrees, your constricted blood vessels suddenly dilate, producing the sensation of extreme heat. You tear your clothing off even though you're freezing to death." I tell her

"What if what the unsub is doing is like the cold water experiments at Dachau?" She asked

"The Nazis wanted to see how long concentration camp victims could survive in the cold and then apply those findings to their own soldiers. How is this the same?"

"It's a test. He wants to see how long you can take it. All right, there's the electrical burns. The ice has melted enough to show us the matching mark." She says and I look at where the burn marks are

"Left anterior axillary line. Is this-"

"Yeah." She holds up her hands indicating a defibrillator, "Clear. It looks like multiple resuscitations. Scar tissue says this was done over weeks, but there's no signs of restraints or binds. She went into that freezer voluntarily. Why would she want this?" JJ asked looking at the body as I answer my phone

"Hotch needs us." I tell her

"Ok. I'm right behind you. I'm just gonna wait for the final M.E. report."

* * *

"Thank you for agreeing to talk to us about Sarah." I said to Sarah's friend as we enter the apartment Sarah owned

"Sure. We were good friends through our kids for a while."

"Right now there's an Amber alert out on Bobby, and we're attempting to find the father. Let me ask you this- do you think there's any- " I started to ask her

"He's not in the picture. Never has been. She never even told me his name."

"So why'd she leave this condo and move to Nevada without selling it?" JJ asked her

"I wish I knew. One day she told me she was gonna join a mom group just to get some support. Then, bam, she was gone. I could barely get her on the phone. When I did, she acted like it was a privilege to talk to her."

"Did she talk about the new life path she'd found and that she couldn't really explain it to you because you weren't worthy?" JJ asked

"How did you know?"

"The autopsy revealed something very specific. Whoever had Sarah flooded her system with sugar and electrolytes, but they starved her of proteins. When you don't have protein in your diet, you can't think straight. It's a common tool used in psychological conditioning." I told the lady

"Psychological..."

"Brainwashing." I said

"She didn't join a mom group, did she?" The lady asked us

"No. She joined a cult." JJ tells her

* * *

"Based on the physical evidence and the psychological profile of Sarah Rhodes, we believe that a cult operating in the area is responsible for killing her." Hotch tells the department

"There aren't any cults around here." The detective says

"Most people think that, but conservative estimates put cult membership at two million people in the United States. Most of them, like this one, are underground to avoid scrutiny." JJ tells him

"The nature of cults is that they are organized around a charismatic psychopath. This many will be superficially intelligent and charming." Kate points out

"Like Jim Jones at Jonestown and Tony Alamo and Alamo Ministries or Charles Dederich in Synanon, this man will have convinced his followers to sublimate their needs for his own...to the point of self-harm or even suicide." I mentioned

"He preys upon disenfranchised men and women who need help in their daily lives. Sarah Rhodes needed help being a single mom. As of now, we believe her son Bobby is still inside the group." Morgan added

"The way cults work is they break you down both physically and mentally, usually through isolation and deprivation." Rossi says

"We believe that this cult has found a way to speed that up through a near-death experience." Kate tells them

"They lock their members in a giant freezer to induce hypothermia, then they resuscitate them." I brought up

"Why hypothermia?" The detective asked me

"The last stage of cold-induced shock is euphoria, an almost dreamy elation before you fall asleep. When members regain consciousness, they feel like they've been born again. The reality is, they almost died."

"Focus your search on hospital records for patients who suffered from frostbite. We believe that Sarah Rhodes isn't the first victim that this group has harmed. Thank you." Hotch finished

* * *

I sat in the chair outside the ladies bathroom at the station, something was going on with JJ, I wanted to make sure she was okay, just then the door opens and JJ walks out, "Hey."

"Oh. Ok. Hi, what's up?" She asked me

"Uh, Garcia found a frostbite victim, admitted to the hospital 3 years ago, by the name of Tom Fallon. Completely off the grid, just like Sarah, but his mother Mary still lives in town."

"Great. Let's go." She says and we start walking

"Kate and Morgan already went when we couldn't find you. Which is why I've been waiting here for 24 minutes and 18 seconds, so that maybe we can finally talk about what's wrong." I tell her

"Nothing's wrong. I'm fine."

"You're not fine. You're obviously displaying symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, which absolutely makes sense. We're coming up on a year since your abduction and torture, and anniversary dates have a power all their own. Not to mention the fact that seasonal weather changes bring back smells that you probably now can only associate with the initial event." I tell her and put my hand on her arm stopping her, "All that I'm saying is that what you're going through is entirely textbook."

"In here." She tells me and we walk into a room and she shuts the door, "Stop it. Stop it. Stop doing that. Stop...being you."

"I can't help it."

"Yes, you can. You can. You think you know what's going on, but you don't." She tells me

"Well, then explain it to me, JJ, because all I know is my friend is hurting, and when I see her in pain, I want to make it stop." It was true, I hated when anyone I cared about was hurting, especially JJ

"All right. All right. Give me a word."

"A word?" I asked confused

"A term. A label. Something that explains what I have, because it is bigger than PTSD, and right now that word is Tivon. Tivon Askari."

"The man who tortured you." I pointed out

"No. No, he was more than that. He was my partner in Afghanistan. I didn't-I didn't know he was a-"

"Double agent. I know. I read the file." I said cutting her off, "You were attempting to extract Intel from a woman named Nadia. He set a trap and killed Nadia and her daughter. Listen, JJ, you cannot blame yourself for that." I tell her and she laughs

"The Humvee, was that in the file?" She asked me

"Yeah. You almost caught him. He set an IED to take out your convoy. I know you were wounded-"

"I was pregnant." She tells me and I feel my heart shatter, I felt like a jerk now, "You see, if I had never gotten involved, Nadia and her daughter would still be alive, and Henry would have a little..." She starts to say while tears fell out of her eyes, "I can't let this go. I can't. What is the word for that, Spence?" She asked me

"I don't know." I tell her and she wipes her eyes

"This stays between us. Ok?" She asked and I nodded my head, "I mean it, not even to Elizabeth."

"Ok." I tell her and she opens the door and walks out

* * *

"Where are we on finding the boat?" Hotch asked walking up to me bringing me out of my thoughts, I had been standing there just looking at the board thinking about what JJ told me

"Um... The presumption is that the, um... Cult would have owned the boat. So I'm just gonna look at it from that angle." I told him grabbing some papers off the table

"Is there something I should know?" He asked me

"No. About-no. I'll let you know if I find anything." I say to him and walked away

* * *

"Ok, so Garcia couldn't find anything online about the forever people or cults that freeze in general, but she found this guy, Adam Lewis. His parents reported him missing a month ago. If cryogenics is their hook, they should try a lot harder to hide it." Kate tells me and Hotch as we look at the new body

"Technically, it's cryonics and not cryogenics. Cryogenics is a scientifically proven process involving the successful freezing and thawing of materials without damage. Cryonics involves taking an already dead body and putting it in liquid nitrogen, and there's no scientific merit whatsoever." I mentioned to her

 _"Hiya. I thought you guys were getting cold feet. Oh, pun unintended."_ Garcia says over the phone

"Garcia, tell us if anyone ordered the following supplies." Hotch tells her and I lean over to the phone

"Besides liquid nitrogen, they need large stainless steel doors for body storage."

 _"That is a big n-o on all fronts."_ She tells me

"What about financial overlap? We know that Sarah Rhodes made monthly withdrawals. Did Adam Lewis do something similar?" Hotch asked her

 _"Uh...Yes. Actually, he did. The exact same amount of money- 260 bucks, to be exact. And he wrote checks. Hello, paper trail. The money went to the Global Warming Awareness fund. That's kind of the opposite end of the spectrum, isn't it?"_

"It makes sense. Cults frequently set up nonprofits to hide their earnings from members." I point out

"And you can't apply for nonprofit status without an address. Garcia" Hotch added

 _"I'm way ahead of you, boss, here it is. I've just sent it"_

* * *

"We need a stakeout on that house. He said they bring the kids by intermittently." JJ tells the detective and her, Morgan and him walk into the room we're at

"I'll send plainclothes up now." The detective says and leaves

"So now what? We sit back and wait until they bring the kids around?" Rossi asked as she sat down next to him

"Well, they know we've arrested their leader. That's a risky plan." Morgan told him

"Especially since we know Grant isn't the unsub." Hotch adds

"How can he not be our guy? He's the one that shows you the face of god at 30 below." Kate brought up

"He was genuinely surprised when we showed him the crime scene photos." Hotch told her

"I saw that, too. He didn't sanction the murders, which means somebody else did them." Rossi says

" A second-tier member pulling a power play, maybe?" JJ asked

"It'd be easier to shoot them and bury them in the desert. No, this unsub is replicating the cult's M.O. even when he knows law enforcement is watching. Except he's not interested in resuscitating them. He wants to watch them freeze to death. That's his compulsion." Hotch points out

"He'd be a psychrophile, then, somebody with a sexual fetish for the cold." I point out

"So let me get this straight. We're saying that there's a serial killer inside the cult?" Kate asked

"Talk about a needle in a needle stack." Rossi inputted

"You know, you can see why the Forever People would be the perfect fit for him, then. The group would satiate his needs for a while, like a pedophile who resorts to pornography to keep his urges in check, and then when he can't control himself anymore, he kills the members that Colton wouldn't miss, the ones who were trying to get out." I said

"Ok, so let's go with the pedophile analogy. You show them pictures, they get excited what happened when you showed pictured of two frozen bodies to members of that house?" Kate asked Morgan

"Nobody reacted. They just stared blankly. The unsub isn't anyone we talked to."

"Except the kids weren't inside the house. And where there's kids there has to be adult supervision, right? The unsub's watching the children." JJ tells us

* * *

"Spence, booster seats." She tells me and I look in the van that's sitting there, "The kids are here." She says and we make our way to the house, "FBI!" JJ yells after the detective knocked on the door and a lady answered

"What are you doing here? This is a private residence."

"Get her out of here." JJ told the detective

"You can't go in there without a warrant."

"Wrong." I tell her and we start looking around and I saw something out one of the windows, "There's a trailer out back." I tell JJ and we make our way out there, "Come on, guys." I say to the kids as we help them out of the trailer

"We need to get them into protective custody." JJ says

"I'll watch over them myself. We need to regroup with the team." I tell her

"Bobby. Where's Bobby?" She asked

"Here."

"Did anyone come looking for you while you were here? One of the new members, maybe?" JJ asked him

"I saw somebody." A little girl told her

"Who'd you see, sweetie?"

"A man, asking about Bobby. Then brother Jon made him go to sleep." The little girl said

"Where's brother Jon now?" I asked her

"Probably back at our house. Where the 5 of us live, I mean." Bobby tells us

"Do you know the address, Bobby?" JJ asked

* * *

"Feeling any better?" I asked JJ walking up to her as she gets ready to leave the office

"Sorry?"

"I thought maybe reuniting a family would..." I started to tell her

"Oh... No. I'm glad I did my job, but this doesn't go away because of some surrogate. You know who does think that way?" She asked me

"Serial killers"

"Yeah." She says and started to walk away

"Hey, uh, I couldn't find that word you asked for, but I also didn't want it to be Tivon Askari anymore, so I called Emily. I didn't tell her anything. I just asked her to pull any extra background Intel she could. Apparently people are much more willing to talk about a terrorist once he's dead. Anyway, I put it in your old office in case you wanted some privacy. You don't have to look at it if you don't want. Good night." I tell her and went to walk away

"Spence." she says and I stop and look at her, she looked like she wanted to say something, a part of me knew what she was wanting to say so I nodded my head at her and left

When I got home Liz was sitting on the couch in front of the fire place with Alexander in his bassinet next to the couch, "Hey, how did it go?" She asked me putting the book down, I leaned over and looked at my son who was asleep and I sat down next to her pulling her to my side.

"Long, I'm just glad to be back home, with the both of you." I tell her and she kissed me

"Well we're happy to have you home too, your son missed you."

"Oh yeah?" I asked and she nodded her head, "And how about his mom? Did she miss me?"

"Eh hardly noticed you were gone." She says with a smirk, she squeaked as I moved her so I was laying above her on the couch

"You think you're funny huh?" I asked her and she kissed me

"Of course I missed you, I now know how Savannah and Will feel when Morgan and JJ leave." She says and I looked down, "Everything okay?" She asked and I looked at her, I loved this woman with everything that I am, but I had to keep my promise to JJ

"Everything is fine, I missed you both too, more then you know." I tell her and she kissed me putting her fingers in my hair, just as I was about to move my hand under her shirt Alexander started to cry, "I got him." I told her and kissed her head then sat up grabbing our son out of the bassinet and held him, after he calmed down he looked at me, Liz was leaning her head on her elbow facing us smiling, I have the perfect wife and the perfect son, nothing could make this moment any better. Then I thought about how in just a couple weeks Liz was coming back to work and how hard it's going to be on her to leave him for who knows how many days a week, "Are you going to be okay going back to work?"

"Honestly..no...I can't even leave the room for longer then 5 minutes without missing him, but I know that the sooner I do it the better." She tells me and I look at her

"You can always just quit, stay here with him full time."

"As much I would love that, I love my job, and knowing that you and me are out there making it a safer world for him makes everything better." She says and I kissed her

"I love you, you know that?" I asked her and she smiled

"I love you too, always have and always will." She said and Alexander yawned, "And I love you too my sweet boy." She says running her finger along his cheek

"I love you too Alexander."

 **A/N: Alright so the first 3 paragraphs to this chapter go to ahowell1993 for being the only one who I got a response for the contest from. Thank you to everyone for you're continued support it means so much to me.**


	36. Chapter 36

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **A/N: Okay so I'm no bringing Elizabeth back from maternity leave only because i'm doing Nelson's Sparrow and I wanted her in here for it. Also I got asked a good question, was I having Spencer in If the Shoe Fits, I didn't have him in there only because I forgot about that episode so for your mind I'll have Morgan play the prince charming part. This story has reached over 7,000 views! I can't thank you enough, none of the other stories I've written have gotten that many.**

 **Spencer POV...**

Me and Liz were in my car heading to the case we got called in on, she was originally suppose to start tomorrow but Hotch wanted her on now because..well..this case hit home. I practically had to drag her out of the nannies house, I know it's killing her having to leave our son, but at least we were still local in case Amanda, our nanny, needed anything.

I pulled up to the house, turned off the engine and just sat there looking at it, I felt Liz grab my hand and I looked at her, "Are you gonna be okay?" She asked and I shook my head, she leaned over and pulled me into a hug, "It'll be okay, I'm right here." She said and I nodded my head.

We walked up the steps with Liz holding my hand into the house and saw everyone standing around the body, I stood there next to JJ and heard footsteps walk in, "Are you sure?" I hear Garcia ask

"It's Gideon" Hotch told her and I turned and walked out of the house, I hear Liz say my name but I just kept walking.

TBATG

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I stood next to Spencer as they wheeled out Gideon's body, I had my hand on his back rubbing it, I hated seeing him hurting, I didn't know Gideon but Spencer told me a lot about him, he was like a father figure to him. He looked at me and I smiled kissing his cheek then him and Morgan left to go with the coroner.

* * *

"So you guys haven't seen Gideon in like 8 years? He didn't say good-bye or anything?" Kate asked JJ as we looked around his house

"He left Spence a letter. The way to love him was to let him be."

"It sounds intense." I tell her

"More like passionate."

"He had that reputation. I guess that's what it takes to be one of the godfathers of the BAU." Kate says

"Yeah, he was a legend." JJ told us

"I was excited. He was teaching this class and I signed up, but he only lectured twice." Kate tells her

"Because he found the Footpath Killer and came back to the unit."

"I heard that's why he jumped ship." Kate mentioned

"There was always a method to his madness. Maybe because he followed his heart."

"So he retired and then got into these birds?" I asked JJ

"Mm, yeah. Birds have always been his thing. I'm not sure why."

* * *

"That's the slowest I've ever seen you type." I say to Garcia as me and Kate walk over to her

"Snooping into Gideon's spending habits makes me feel like a creep."

"Yeah, well, try looking through his bedroom." JJ tells her walking into the room

"Oh, you win."

"All right, so there was newspaper, a few days worth of clothes, and hotel soaps." JJ says holding up a bag and Garcia smiled

"Oh, he always did that. He'd collect them and put like money and gum and make these little bags and keep them in his car, give them to the homeless."

"Tells us he's been traveling." Kate points out

"A lot, according to his plastic. Mainly down the east coast." Garcia says

"But he came back home. So who knew that and who would want him dead?" I asked

"We should start with recent releases. Gideon's arrested a lot of people." JJ says

"Thousands. He's been a crime-fighter since, what, 1975?" Garcia asked

"Yeah. 40-year sentence sounds pretty good until the 40 years are up." Kate adds

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Out of respect, I kept him covered." The M.E tells me and Morgan

"Appreciate that." Morgan tells her

"'Cause of death was hypovolemic shock due to ballistic trauma. 3 points of entry- left shoulder, right abdominal wall, and right temporal."

"Did he suffer?" Morgan asked, I just stood there looking at the sheet covering up the man I once knew

"Not for long no, his brain stopped working before he was able to process his last breath. After the final shot, he was gone within a fraction of a second."

"Would you excuse us, please?" Morgan asked her

"Of course." She said and left

"Did you hear any of that?" Morgan asked me and I wiped my eye as a tear fell down, "He didn't suffer." He tells me putting his hand on my shoulder, "Listen to me. Listen to me. Sometimes you put up these walls and you block us out, and you can't do that, not right now. We need you, kid, Elizabeth needs you, Gideon needs you. I'm going to step right out there, and when you're ready...Let's go get this son of a bitch." He tells me and I nodded my head, he walked away and left as I looked at Gideon's body

I stood there in silence for a few more minutes, "I wish you could have met her, Elizabeth, she's um...she's Hotch's sister and the most amazing woman I've ever met, you would really like her, in some ways she reminds me of you, she pours her heart into our cases and after everything she's been through, after all she has lost she still brightens up any room she walks into, the mother of my son," I paused then gave a light chuckle, "Yeah, yeah I have a son, Alexander," I stopped and sniffled wiping my eye again, "I'm so sorry this happened to you, I'll miss you, more then you know." I said and after taking a deep breath I walked out of the room, Morgan is right Gideon needs me right now, so does Liz, it's her first case back and she needs my support right now just like I need hers.

* * *

"Ok, Gideon fueled up every 350 miles, he probably stopped at some diners along the way, 'cause, you know, the man could like live off of milkshakes. Definitely he took his sweet time going down the coast, but booked it back from Jacksonville, and instead of coming here home to his cabin, he stayed one night in Roanoke." Garcia tells me, Kate and JJ as JJ leans to look at the computer while me and Kate faced her with our backs to the door

"Why? It's only an hour away." Kate pointed out

"Spence?" JJ said and I turned around and saw him walking in

"I just don't understand any of it anymore. I guess I'm just looking for it again, for the belief I had back in college, the belief I had when I first met Sarah and it all seemed so right." He says to us holding what looked like a journal

"That's beautiful. Who's Sarah?" I asked

"Gideon's first love." Garcia tells me

"You're remembering the letter Gideon left you." JJ told him

"I'm thinking maybe he rushed back and stayed in Roanoke because he was finally happy. What if he found someone like Sarah again?" He asked sadly and put the journal in his bag then walked out

"Spence.." I started to say but he kept walking, "I don't know what to do." I tell the others and Kate puts her hand on my shoulder

"Just give him time, he and Gideon were close, Gideon was like a father to him" JJ tells me and I face her nodding my head

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"I just always thought I'd see him again." I say to Rossi as we drive

"I know."

"I'd just really like to play one more game of chess with him. I know I'm not being very rational, and I know I haven't seen him in a really long time, but...I think about him all the time, and I knew he was always out there, and now it just feels...Empty." I say to him

"Yeah. But time will pass, and slowly you'll forget how much it hurts. Then maybe you'll find something else to...fill that empty space, like Elizabeth, or Alexander." He tells me and I put my head down

"I know she's trying to be there but give me space, I would always tell her about him, I know that if I...if I put myself in her arms I won't be able to..."

"Sometimes in moments like these where we lose someone close to us the best form of comfort there is, is the arms of a loved one." Rossi tells me and I nodded my head

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Go ahead, Dave." Aaron says setting his phone down

 _"Hotch, I think this is it, but I need to fill everyone else in. The last thing Gideon did was to shoot a bird painting. I think he was trying to tell us that his killer is the same one from a case we worked on in 1978."_ Rossi tells us

"So it was someone he locked up." Kate pointed out

 _"No, those murders went unsolved."_

"So if this wasn't about revenge on Gideon if he didn't lock the guy up, then what was this?" Morgan asked

 _"Maybe he went after Gideon because he was back on the case again."_ Rossi says

 _"The unsub was strangling 20-something brunettes. Garcia, were there any female bodies found in Roanoke County in the past few days?"_ Spencer asked her

"Let me check the crystal web ball. Uh... Yes. An unidentified woman in her 50s was found in a shallow grave just outside of Salem."

 _"Was she strangled?"_ Rossi asked

"That's the mystery. There was no foul play."

 _"Was there a dead bird in her hand?"_ Spencer asked her

"What? Eew. None of that fowl play either."

"What's the significance of the bird?" Aaron asked him

 _"Those little brown birds were the unsub's obsession."_

"So how did Gideon get back on the case?" I asked

"He saw the story in a national paper and it obviously piqued his interest. What are the chances that the same woods and the same ritual make headlines again?" JJ asked as well

"But the signature was missing." I added

 _"That's why he drove to Roanoke. He needed to make sure it wasn't just a coincidence."_ Rossi tells us

"Well, clearly it wasn't." Morgan mentioned

"And this woman would have been in her 20s back then. Age-wise, that's his type." Garcia points out

"Gideon must have thought the same thing. If she was a victim, then she was held captive for 37 years. Who knows what he did to her in all that time?" Kate said

 _"What if he stopped killing because he found the victim he really wanted and held on to her?"_ Spencer asked

"Her recent death could have sent the unsub into a tailspin. He's probably gonna want to find someone new." Morgan inputted

"And if it's anything like what he did before, he may hunt and kill until he finds the right one." JJ adds

"We'll meet you in Roanoke, Dave." Aaron tells him and hangs up

"You need to stay here with Garcia." He tells JJ

"I know."

He heads over to the door and I start to walk down the steps, "Elizabeth," He says to me and I look at him, "Are you sure you don't want to stay here too?"

I shook my head, "No, I need to do this, for Gideon, and for Spencer"

* * *

"We need to retrace Gideon's steps." Aaron says to Rossi over the phone

"We know he arrived too late to see the body, which is probably why he stayed overnight." Morgan added

 _"Maybe he looked at the disposal site first and went to the M.E. in the morning."_ Rossi said

"Would he have gone to the sheriff?" Kate asked from next to me

"Probably not, without evidence to back up his theory." Aaron told her

 _"Oh. The Roanoke sheriff just sent me the report and a crime scene photo."_ Garcia tells us

 _"Gideon didn't have this photo, but he still had a hell of a hunch."_ JJ adds

 _"Wait a minute. Gideon had a picture. Search through his wallet. There's a picture of a girl."_ Rossi tells Garcia and JJ

"Sir, he has a lot of pictures in here." She says to him

 _"Well, look at one of the older ones, like it was from a high school yearbook."_

 _"Tara Burnett, Roanoke High, class of '76."_ JJ informed us

 _"That's her. It's gotta be. We met her mother back then."_ Rossi says

* * *

"He took the time to bring her all the way out here, but he didn't bury her. It speaks to his remorse." Aaron says to me and Kate as we walk through the woods to where Tara's body was

"Yeah, he probably came here to visit. Want to bet this place has emotional value to him?" Kate asked him

"But leaving dead birds in his victims' hands was his signature, so why abandon it now?" I asked

"Maybe he outgrew it? Keeping her for 40 years became his new obsession." Aaron answered

"He's got to be comfortable here. It takes some time to gather all this. Clearly not worried about getting busted." Kate says and I look up when I hear birds squawking

"Hotch?" Kate asked and I looked at him

"He put her on display. It's a nest." He tells us and we look

* * *

"Today's victim, Josie Behdart, 23, single, she walked to work. Local cops just found her cell phone in a trash can and, surprise, no cameras." Kate says to Rossi, Spencer and Morgan as we walked over to them, I saw Spencer look at me and I gave him a small smile

"And all the original reports confirm that each of the victims was taken within a mile of this library." Aaron added

"This guy's got a precise comfort zone. It hasn't changed since '78. My guess is there's another significance to this location." Morgan said

"A library could be an ideal hunting ground- a haven for the lonely, I'm gonna check it out." Spencer tells them and looks at me, "Liz?" He asked and i nodded my head and followed him, we make our way up the steps and I feel him grab my hand, "I'm sorry if I've been brushing you off I-I just..."

"Hey," I tell him making him face me as we stopped, "Don't be sorry, you lost someone close to you, your grieving, I am here though whenever you are ready. I love you."

He pulls me into a hug and rests his chin on my head, "I love you too."

* * *

"The librarian remembers Gideon. He got a temporary card, checked out these books in the morning and left them in the drop box on his drive home last night." Spencer tells Aaron and Rossi as me, him, Morgan and Kate walk into the diner

"He left the library and came here to read books." Kate added

"It's classic Gideon and classic profiling. He sat right here to let the unsub know he was watching." Morgan mentioned

"And it worked." I said

"If Gideon was so sure he lured the right guy, why didn't he tell us?" Rossi asked

"It's like the unsub was his white whale. He wanted to catch him on his own, and his last move was when the unsub targeted him." I replied

"The age of the victims has stayed the same as the unsub has aged. It speaks to his arrested development." Aaron says

"So the question's what it's always been. Why them?" Morgan asked

* * *

"This is it. Nelson's sparrow. It's what the unsub left in their hands because its behavior matched that of the insecure victims." Rossi tells us showing a picture of a bird in one of the books

"So the unsub really knew his birds and where to find them." Morgan pointed out

"Is there some kind of bird lovers club in the area?" I asked

"Garcia, are there any nature centers or bird-watching chapters in the area?" Aaron asked her over Morgan's phone

 _"There's an old-timey bird-watching group called the Flappers, median age of like 89. They started in the sixties. Most of the members have gone extinct."_

"And chances are the unsub and his victims weren't a part of that group, so where else would he meet them?" Kate asked and Aaron held up his phone showing us a picture of Tara

"Tara was his ideal."

"What makes her so special?" Kate asked, I tensed a little because that same question was asked to me, _"What makes her so freakin special?" Diane asked pointing the gun at me_

I was snapped out of my memory when I felt Spencer grab my hand, he probably felt me tense up and I looked at him nodding my head, it's been a little over a year since that event but I was still haunted by it.

"Tara's mother said she was broken." Rossi says

"And he knew that because he spent more time watching her than the others." Aaron added

"So he was able to study her, not just glance as she passed by the window." I pointed out

"She was a few years out of high school when she disappeared. Maybe he knew her from there." Morgan brought up

"She wasn't very social." Spencer told him

"Well, neither was he."

"They were both in their 20s when she was taken. If they weren't friends in high school, maybe they worked together?" Aaron asked

"Tara's mom said right out of school she bagged groceries." Spencer says to Garcia

 _"I've got Tara working at Joe's on Main summer of '76 through '77."_

"Are there any employees at Joe's supermarket who started in the seventies and are still there?" Aaron asked her

 _"Well, that's nearly 40 years ago in a galaxy far, far away that wasn't using my magic binary boxes, but, yeah, the place is still family owned and operated. Give me a hot minute. Ok. 3 of the people still working there are women. That leaves two males. There's a name I've heard before. Mallick._

"Who?" Aaron asked her

 _"Gertie Mallick was one of the founding members of the bird group. Died in 1974. Her next of kin was her nephew Donnie Mallick, who inherited her farm and... buys enough birdseed to let me know I should send you his address."_

* * *

 _"Babies having babies. Zettie Mallick gave birth to Donald Allen Mallick in 1956, 3 months shy of her 14th birthday. Father unknown. When she was 18, she was sent to live in a mental health facility for schizophrenia, and 4-year-old Donnie was sent to live with his only living kin, 72-year-old wheelchair bound Aunt Gertrude. I have no school records on him past 1971, and if I do the math from aunt Gertie's death certificate, he's been on his own since he was 17."_ Garcia tells us as we drive to the address

"The years of isolation in that house were his stressor. That explains why he was obsessed with birds." Morgan says

"And when she died, he replaced her with Tara." Kate adds, when we arrive at the house I stay with Spencer as we walk in and start searching the place. Suddenly we hear a gunshot from outside and made our way over to Rossi who was standing there in front of the body of Donnie Mallick

* * *

I stood outside of Gideon's house with Spencer when Gideon's son walked out, Spencer walks over to him and I see him hand him something then they hug, when they break apart Spencer faces me and reached his hand out, I walked over and grabbed it then looked at Stephen giving him a smile as me and Spencer made our way into the house.

Spencer and I stood in the doorway looking around when he moved over to a chess board that was sitting there, he picked up a piece but then set it back down and walked over to me pulling me into a hug.

"I love you." He says into my hair and I smiled

"I love you too"

"Let's go home, I really want to hold our son right now." He tells me and I grabbed his hand and we walked out of the house down the steps standing by the others, Morgan puts his hand on Spencer's shoulder then Rossi and Aaron walk over, Aaron gives me a side hug then we all walked away and me and Spencer got into the car and left.

* * *

"He was an angel the entire time." Amanda tells us as I stood there talking to her while Spencer was holding Alexander.

"Thank you again, I'm sorry this got dumped on you last minute."

"Oh don't apologize it's what I'm here for, I'll always be around 24/7 to take him when you have to leave." She tells me and I walked her to the door, after she left I walked over to Spencer who was sitting on the couch with our son and sat down next to him.

"How are you doing?" I asked him

"When Morgan and I were at the M.E's office he left the room and I stood there looking at Gideon, I told him about you and how he would like you because in some ways you remind me of him." Spencer tells me and I smile, "I also told him about Alexander. He would be shocked and happy that I have a son, and that I married the most amazing woman ever." He says and looked at me, "I wish he could have met you."

I brushed my fingers through his hair and smiled, "I know this may be crazy partly because I don't believe in it but maybe in some way he has. Before I joined the BAU Aaron would tell me some things about him, he sounded like a great guy."

"He was," Spencer says and paused, "I'm gonna miss him." He tells me and I saw a tear fall out of his eye and I wiped it away

"I'm so sorry sweetie." I tell him and he kissed my cheek

"I'm just glad I have the two of you," He says looking at Alexander, "You are both my reason to keep going."

"Same here" I said and looked down at our son


	37. Chapter 37

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Officers Keith Rivers and Rudy Hightower, both career prison guards, both married, kids, nothing out of the ordinary." I tell everyone as we looked at the file

"The uniform itself could be the target. Kill a guard, any guard, it doesn't matter which one." Morgan mentions

"And what about the sock in the mouth?" I asked

"It might be some kind of warning to keep quiet, you know, like, put a sock in it." Rossi says

"It could have also just been a gag to literally keep the victims quiet." JJ pointed out

"Well, either way, we're probably looking at multiple unsubs. This would be very difficult to pull off alone." Aaron tells us

"Multiple unsubs in a prison, sounds like a gang." I pointed out

"And gangs have gang leaders and the murders could lead back to one of them, and by them, I mean him." JJ mentioned showing us a photo of a prisoner on her tablet

"Julio Watson, founder of the Southside Crip Nation." Morgan said

"He transferred in a month before the murders started. Wonder if it's a coincidence." JJ adds

 _"Excuse me, sir. Even I am befuddled."_ Garcia says popping onto the screen, _"I found almost nothing on this prison, but this is what I do know. The Reagan Federal Penitentiary was opened in 1969 just outside of Liberty, Texas. Oh, the irony, I know. And then it was scheduled to be shut down, but Citadel Corrections Company bought it a year ago from Uncle Sam."_

"The business of incarceration is extremely lucrative and virtually recession-proof. The Citadel Corrections Company has more than quadrupled their holdings since they were founded 20 years ago. They now have 19 facilities all across the country. 59,603 prisoners in their charge." Spencer points out and I shake my head, sometimes it scares me what he knows

"Guess I had it wrong all this time. Crime does pay." Rossi said

* * *

"Agent Hotchner, it's good to see you, sir." The Warden tells him as him and another guard walk out the door, "Thank you again for coming all this way."

"Hopefully we can help, Warden."

"Oh, Agent Rossi, hey, it's great to meet you." The Warden greeted Rossi shaking his hand

"Likewise."

"Warden. This is our team. This is Agent Elizabeth Reid, Agent Jareau, Dr. Reid, and Agent Morgan." Aaron introduced

"This is Captain Shavers, head of security. He can help you with anything you need." The Warden told us

"Call me Dale, please. And welcome. It's good to have you all here. Right this way." Dale said leading us inside, the door buzzes and we stop in the entrance

"Gun lockers for your weapons and ammo are right here." The Warden tells us and we take our holsters off putting them in the lockers and signed our names, it made me nervous not having my gun inside a jail full of prisoners but it's what we had to do, "Obviously we had to move officer Rivers' body, but per your request, we left everything else as is."

"Thank you." Aaron tells him

"Thank you for coming," Dale tells us and we walk through the other door, "Polinsky, I want those sign-up forms logged in before the next shift. Make sure we get them visitor badges. Close." He says and the jail door closed behind us, "If you don't mind, I got a few things I need to tend to, but I'll catch up with you ASAP."

"I'm sorry there's no cell signal inside the walls. We had to jam it." The Warden tells us as we walk through the hall

"You got inmates smuggling phones in?" Morgan asked him

"Yeah, it's been a problem, one of many."

"What about Wi-Fi?" JJ asked

"We got you set up as close to the router as possible, but it's still glitchy. It drives me nuts. Back when I worked on the Hill, I couldn't survive without my phone. We've got a good old-fashioned land line and a fax machine for you, though."

"I thought I was the only one that still used those." Rossi tells him and I chuckled

"And there actually is a pretty decent signal outside, so you're not completely cut off. We'll provide all your meals. Food's not much to speak of, especially breakfast, so you may want to grab something over by your hotel and bring it in."

* * *

"I bet all the inmates know exactly what areas are covered by surveillance." Morgan tells Dale as I look at the door

"That they do."

"The lock's not picked, so they either stole a key from a guard or took one off the victim." I pointed out

"But how did they get him all the way back here?" Morgan asked me

"They either waited or lured him here somehow."

"And look at this shelf. It's pretty high. It had to take at least two attackers to get him up here." Morgan points out

"What's the deal with the shoddy surveillance? I mean, this is a big hallway. No cameras?" I asked Dale

"Ask our corporate office. Maybe you'll have better luck than I did."

"What do you mean by that?" Morgan asked him walking iover but Dale kept quiet, "It's ok. You can level with us." Morgan told him

"I requested cameras, dozens of times, but I got shot down because upgrades cost money. You want me to level with you, ok. These CCC college boys have their heads up their asses. The warden's a fair enough man, but he's one of them. 20 years I've been here. They don't care about us or this place. The only thing they care about is the bottom line, and my guys are dying because of it." Dale tells us, he was obviously frustrated

 _"Captain, de-seg supervisors are ready for you in the main office."_

"Copy that, I'll be right up." He replied into his radio, "Can you two find your way back?"

"Yeah. We're good." Morgan told him and he walked away, "You know, Elizabeth, there's one other possibility we need to consider. What if a guard is actually involved?" Morgan asked me

"It just means we've got to be careful who we can trust."

* * *

"There's a couple more guys that we should talk to. So far no one knows anything, but if they do, they're just not talking." Morgan tells Aaron as I look at a file

"Maybe this has nothing to do with gang-related activity."

"The one thing they all have in common is no love for Hightower or Rivers." I point out

"This could be personal. Maybe someone had a beef with those two." Morgan adds

"We need to complete our profiles. The answer's in there. How much time do you need" Aaron asked Spencer who was going through inmate files

"Uh... 126 minutes, approximately." He tells him and I smile shaking my head

"Well, hurry."

"We should go help finish those interviews." Morgan says and I stand

"I'll join you in a minute, but first I'm gonna go outside and check in with Garcia." Aaron says to us and leaves, I walk over to Spencer and put my hand on his shoulder as Morgan left the room

"Don't have to much fun." I tell him and he grabbed my hand kissing it

"Same goes for you, be careful please."

I leaned down and kissed him, "Always am." I said and joined Morgan

* * *

"Can't see anything on the surveillance footage. They cut the lights in the hallway and the cameras don't have I.R." Aaron tells us walking into the room

"How'd they get access to the power?" JJ asked

"Same way they got into that closet. One of the guards is definitely in on this." I replied

"Maybe not willingly. There have been cases where inmates have manipulated prison staff with threats." Aaron adds

"Guys, I've been looking for connections between our victims, and I think I may have found something. Before our dead convict, Randall Jefferson Jones, achieved privileged status, he just happened to be cellmates with Devon White." Spencer informed us

"Ok, so why does Devon's name keep popping up?" JJ asked him

"I thought the same thing, so I kept searching, which oddly enough led me back to Hightower and Rivers. They filed more disciplinary write-ups than any other guards in the entire prison, and guess who got a lot of them."

"Devon White." I answered

"Yeah, but for relatively minor infractions- improperly made bed, non-regulation clothing. They once put him in solitary confinement for hiding candy bars under his bed." He mentions

"I wonder why they rode him so hard." JJ said

"Here's the strange thing, though. He has no history of physical violence in his past, yet he made frequent visits to the infirmary for injuries related to fighting."

"Do we have medical files here?" Aaron asked him

"No, we need to check the infirmary."

* * *

"Before the CCC took over, Devon White was a model inmate. He never got written up. Not one infirmary visit. None of that started until officers Hightower and Rivers were hired." Spencer tells us walking around the table before standing next to me

"And that's right around the same time they started exchanging all that money. That bank activity has to have something to do with this." Morgan added

"If they were paying off bets, what could they be betting on?" I asked

"Some kind of regular poker game, maybe." JJ tells me

"Sports, maybe a fight." Morgan inputted

"What if its some sort of sanctioned violence right here at the prison?" Spencer asked

"You mean like a fight club?" I asked him, "I've heard of that happening in prisons."

"Maybe it was their own sadistic version of that using inmates. That could explain why Devon was fighting." Aaron says

"So the sock in the mouth and the 7 broken fingers must be related to a specific event. And if I'm guessing, an event involving Devon White." Morgan brought up

"Our presence here is forcing the issue." Aaron tells us

* * *

"You really think this Butler guy did it?" JJ asked Aaron

"It's possible. And our profile may have led Shavers right to him."

"But if this is about foul play, why would Shavers want him dead?" Morgan asked

"He may have known too much about something the captain's trying to hide." Spencer answered

"You think the warden knows about all this?" I asked

"I don't think so. I think he's just trying to save his job." Aaron tells me

"So what's our next move?" I asked him

"We proceed as planned. We keep conducting interviews until we find out what happened to Devon White, and then we figure out if Butler or Shavers had anything to do with it."

* * *

"It's ok if I call you Tom?" Morgan asked the guard and he nodded his head, "So you reported directly to officer Rivers?"

"He was my block commander."

"Do you remember this inmate?" Morgan asked him showing him a photo

"Yeah, he looks familiar."

"You took him to the infirmary 4 different times." I tell Tom

"His name's Devon White. He was on D-building." Morgan informed him

"Yeah, yeah, Devon. I remember him."

"Do you remember anything about his transfer?" I ask him and he shakes his head, "How about the infirmary visits?"

"Nope, uh, nothing."

Morgan and I shared a look before looking back at Tom, "You ok? Would you like some water?" Morgan asked him

"Yeah. Yeah, sure."

Morgan stood up and walked to the table behind us, "You know, Tom, well, it's just- it's a little odd. Devon lived on your cell block... And you saw him at least 5 times a week. But all you got is, "Yeah, he looks familiar"?" Morgan says to him bringing over the cup of water and the pitcher

"There's a lot of guys on D-block." Tom tells him after drinking his water, "You mind?" He asked indicating to the pitcher and poured himself more water

"Ok, look, I'm just gonna cut to the chase here, because you seem like a man who is scared and carrying a burden. Maybe it's just stress, I don't know, but it seems like you're hiding something and it's eating you up." I tell him

"Is there something you want to tell us, Tom? Something maybe about cell number 34?" Morgan asked him

"You gotta keep my daughter safe. Please." He tells us and me and Morgan looked at each other.

* * *

"Shavers and his guys, they're like their own little gang." Tom tells us

"What did they do to Devon?" I asked him, he looks down at the photo and shakes his head

"They told me if I talked, they'd hurt my daughter."

"Ok, Tom, how did all this get started?" I asked

"They'd round up a few inmates. Misfits. None of them affiliated. They'd pick the quiet ones 'cause they knew they'd be weak. They made Devon and Butler fight. Those two, I guess they were, uh, close. Like more than friends. And when they refused, they only got it worse from Shavers and his gang. I wasn't supposed to be down there, but I was looking for Rivers. Devon's lying there, all bloody, and Butler's freakin' out."

"They made you get rid of the body so you were an accessory." I pointed out to him and he started crying, "You helped them kill Hightower, Rivers, and Jones, too."

"I couldn't kill anybody. It-it was Butler and I don't know who else. And I just-I just got 'em keys and stuff."

"Will you testify to all this?" I asked him

"Yeah."

"How was Randall Jones involved?" I asked

"Jones, their lap dog, he'd help them out, round up guys, get them information. Whatever they needed."

* * *

"Heads up" Tom tells us and we turned to see inmates open up the jail door of the room we were in, they rush over and I grabbed the water pitcher hitting one inmate over the head with it and the other smacked me across the face and pushed me over the table, I went to hold the one I hit off with a chair but he pulled it away from me then grabbed me holding me from behind while putting his knife to my neck.

"Okay, okay." I hear Morgan say as I struggle against the inmate holding me

* * *

"Check it. Check it." I hear an inmate tell another as they lead us towards the commons area, the inmate from earlier has his arm wrapped around me while my hands are cuffed behind my back

"Locked!"

"You smell good." He tells me smelling my hair, I turned around and knee'd him in the gut

"You get that bitch under control!" An inmate tells him

"Just let her go, man!" Morgan yells at him

"Oh, I like her." The inmate growls at me as another was holding me

"Over there." The one holding Morgan says pushing him down into the commons room

"Uhh!" Morgan groaned and I looked at him

"Gather 'round! I want everyone to see this. Give me that." the inmate tells another taking a night stick from him

"Hey, I want to have some fun with this one first." The inmate that I hit tells him

"Leave her alone!" Morgan yelled at him as the guy started to walk towards me and I backed up

"Hurry up! This won't take long."

"Weeks!" An inmate shouted at him walking into where we were, "What the hell you doin', man?"

"Mind your business!" Weeks told him

"I'm makin' it my business."

"This ain't your show. Now, go on, get out of here!" Weeks yells at him

"This ain't got nothin' to do with you, Watson." The other inmate says to him

"The hell it don't. This is Feds, you idiots. Anything happens to them, we all end up on death row."

"Listen to him, man, he's right." Morgan tells him

"Shut up!" Weeks yelled at him

"Nothing good can come from hurting us. If you let us go, it can help some of you." Morgan says to him

"We know about Shavers." I tell them and the inmate turns and looks at me making my stomach turn

"We have enough to bring this whole place down. With your help, Shavers, all of them, Maybe even the entire Citadel Corrections Company." Morgan insisted

* * *

"Stay out of this, Watson." Weeks tells him

"It's too late. I'm already in it."

"Somebody, please..." Tom groans coming into the room

"He needs help." I tell them

"Oh, I got his help." The inmate says grabbing him bringing him over to the corner

"Let go of him!"

"I just want to help him!" The inmate says and started kicking him

"No!" I shouted at him then suddenly there was a gunshot and they all got down, "Get medics in here! He's still alive!" I shouted at the others kneeling next to Tom

"You all right?" Spencer asked me uncuffing my hands and I threw my arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder, "It's ok. You're gonna be ok." He tells me rubbing my back

* * *

I walked down the hall of the prison heading towards the entrance, it may be a big place but I was suffocating, I stood at the one door waiting for them to buzz it open, when they did I made my way outside walking past Aaron and Rossi who were already out there, I just stood there enjoying the sounds from outside when Morgan walked up to me

"You ready to get the hell out of here?" He asked me

"Am I ever" I tell him and I feel someone grab my hand, I looked up and saw Spencer standing there, I smiled at him and we walked over to the SUV getting in.

* * *

After I laid Alexander down in his crib I headed into the living room and saw Spencer sitting on the couch, I sat down next to him curling my knees to my chest as he wrapped his arm around me, "Are you okay?" He asked and I shook my head

"Being cuffed like that and held against my will just hit a nerve with me."

"Because of what happened with Diane?" He asked and I nodded my head

"Just like when we worked on who killed Gideon and Kate asked what was so special about Tara, the memory of Diane asking that question while pointing a gun at me flashed into my head." I tell him and he wrapped his other arm around me

"I know it's never going to be easy for you to relive that, but I want you to know that I'm here for you. I always will be"

I looked at him, "I still have nightmares." I confessed to him and he looked at me concerned

"It's been..."

"1 and a half years, I know. They aren't as bad as they were when it happened and I was staying with Sean, he would come into the room because he'd hear me scream and hug me. That's why most of the nights you find me in Alexander's room, I didn't wake up because I heard him, I woke up from the nightmare and just go sit in there." I tell him and look down

"How come you never told me?" He asked

"I don't know, I guess I didn't want to worry you after everything that's been going on." I tell him and he lifted my face to look at him

"Please don't ever feel like you're going to worry me, I want you to be okay and if you need to tell me, or go punch a bag, or just need me to hold you I'm here." He says and I smiled putting my hand on his face

"What did I do to deserve you?" I asked and he chuckled

"I ask myself that about you everyday." He says and I kiss him, "Come on, let's go to bed, and remember I'm right here." He tells me and we stand up heading to the bedroom.


	38. Chapter 38

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Spencer have you seen Alexander's..." I started to ask him but I turned around to see him holding our son's blue teddy bear that Garcia knitted him, He can't seem to sleep without it, "Thank you" I tell him grabbing it and putting it in the bag

"Got everything?" He asked me and I sighed

"I think so." I looked around one more time before turning to him, "Yeah I got everything, and if I missed anything Amanda has a key." I walked over to him with Alexander's bag slung over my shoulder, he put his hands on my waist

"Are you okay?"

"Not really, you would think after 3 months it would be easier for me to leave him."

"I don't like leaving him either, but Amanda can get a hold of us if she needs anything, or she can call Will or Jessica and she sends us pictures of him." He tells me and kissed my head

"I know, you're right, I just...I know how hard it is on Henry and Jack when Aaron and JJ are gone, I just want him to know that we do this to keep him safe." I say and he pulls me into a hug

"He knows, he may only be 4 months old but he knows." I lifted my head up and looked at him

"You're to good for me you know that?"

He chuckled and kissed me, "I think it's the opposite."

I smiled and lightly pushed him, "Whatever you say Dr. Reid" I tell him and he pulled me against him

"Stop that, we are already running late because of this morning." He tells me and I giggle

"You have no one to blame but yourself for that." I smirked

"You started it by rubbing up against me"

"I was stretching, you could have resisted." I defended

"It's impossible for me to resist you." He says and I kissed him

"Ditto, now come on we're late." I tell him, he grabs Alexander who is in his car seat and I opened the door, set the code then closed it before locking it.

* * *

"And that was the last known sighting of Sophie Troy, at 2:37 p.m. on a surveillance video. She was coming from having lunch with her husband, and she was going home using the congressional underground tunnels." Garcia informs us

"Ok, so it's 3 a.m. now. She's been gone a little over 12 hours. That doesn't qualify as a missing person yet." Kate points out

"The director's personally asked us to handle the case." Aaron says

"Her husband is Congressman Benjamin Troy, which makes her a VIP." Rossi inputs

"Well, the question is, who's the real target, Sophie or her husband? I mean, is this an attempt to influence him?" Morgan asks

"Well, the Congressman isn't very high profile. It's his first term, and he has views which have made him unpopular on both sides of the aisle." I mentioned

"Sophie's a healthcare lawyer on the D.C. museum board. What was her schedule after lunch? Do we know?" Spencer asked

"Yeah. She was gonna go home, and then she had a foundation meeting at 7:00. She didn't make either."

"Then when she wasn't home by 12:30, the Congressman called family and friends before contacting Capitol police at 1:45. We were notified a half an hour later." Aaron says

"Let's go back to her last sighting. Do we have the surveillance footage from the other side of the stairwell?" Spencer asked Garcia walking over to the screen

"Yeah. That would be the Library of Congress lobby and there's no sign of her."

"It's like she vanished into thin air." JJ says

"Guys, it is possible she just left of her own accord." Kate brings up

"But we have to assume it's a kidnapping unless proven otherwise." Rossi said

"Well, we know she was on the phone before she disappeared." Morgan added

"We need to pull all her email and cell phone records. The Congressman's here." Aaron tells us

* * *

"See that shadow on the wall?" Garcia asked us showing us the video, "It shifted as the sun went down, but now it's back. The video was on a 6-hour loop before it repeated, which is why no one noticed it right away."

"So this was organized and premeditated." Morgan points out

"Ok, so even though this isn't the real footage, the lobby would have been crowded with tourists at the time. How was she taken in broad daylight from a public place?" JJ asked

"Ironically, it may have been easier to kidnap her in a crowd. It's noisy, hard to see, people are distracted. If she was injected with a sedative, the kidnappers might just look like friends or family helping someone who was feeling ill." Spencer replied from behind me and placed his hand on my shoulder, ever since I told Spencer that I was still having nightmares about my kidnapping he's done everything he can to make sure I'm doing okay.

"We'll set up a trace phone, and I've already got agents looking into terrorism and organized crime connections." Aaron tells the Congressman as they walked into the round room, "I also need to know on what committees you sit on and what pending bills might be influenced by your vote."

"Right. I'm on the energy subcommittee. There's a vote in two days to ban fracking on the Pacific Coast."

"Where do you stand on the issue?" Morgan asked him

"I'm for the ban, but I've been getting pressure from the oil companies to vote against it. They're not the most subtle people in the world. Do you think maybe they have something to do with this?"

"Well, just to be safe, I think you and your family should stay here in protective custody until we get a better handle on things." Aaron tells him

"Ok. It's just my brother and my mother. They're in Georgetown."

"They live together?" Spencer asked him

"Paul just got out of rehab a couple of months ago. He's staying with her till he gets back on his feet."

"We'll arrange to have them picked up. Agent Anderson, will you please show the Congressman where he can stay?" Aaron asked Anderson

"Sure. Congressman, right this way." Anderson tells him and they leave

"So, uh, we confirmed the Congressman was in his office all afternoon. There was nothing unusual about his behavior." JJ tells Aaron

"And he's responding appropriately." He says and answers his phone, "Yeah, Dave, what have you got? We'll be right down." He hung up, "Organized crime may have a lead on the case." He tells us, me and Spencer follow him out of the room

* * *

 _"So who's the package?"_ One man asked on the recording

 _"Who cares? Dyadya just said it's someone important."_ Another one said

 _"What's our piece of the action?"_

 _"Maybe 5 grand."_ The second guy says and starts speaking Russian

"Which translates into, "he'll call us, we just sit tight."" Fuchs tells us stopping the audio

"These are low-level guys?" Aaron asked him

"Foot soldiers in the the Mikhalov Bratva, a Russian crime ring that deals in illegal arms. We intercepted a container of Stinger missiles about 6 months ago they were gonna ship to Syria. Been trying to infiltrate the ring since then, figure out who the major players are."

"Where is the wiretap?" Spencer asked

"In their apartment. This recording is from a week ago."

"And you think it's connected to Sophie Troy?" I asked him

"Well, here's what we know. These low-level guys often do freelance work to pad their income. You need somebody for an unsavory job, this is who you call."

"1-800-thug." Rossi added

"Yeah, pretty much. This kidnapping they're talking about was gonna go down around now." Fuchs mentions

"Well, probably not a coincidence." Aaron says

"According to Loker, our agent on site, they're still waiting for Dyadya, which means uncle, to call."

"Any idea who uncle is?" Spencer asked him

"No. We've been trying to I.D. him, but no luck so far."

"I think we need to be on this." Rossi says

"You're welcome to join us as long as you don't jeopardize our case." Fuchs tells him

"Understood, Reid I want you and Elizabeth to go meet up with Loker and help with observation." Aaron tells us and we left

* * *

Me and Spencer make our way to the apartment walking up the steps, Spencer looks around for the number and knocks on the door, we hear multiple locks unclick before it opens slightly revealing a woman, "Hi um we're looking for Loker." Spencer tells her and she shifts her eyes from him to me then closes the door and the chain latch unlocks and she opens the door and we walk inside

"I'm Dorian Loker. You must be from the BAU?" She asked us and I shake her hand

"Yeah, I'm Spencer-I don't really shake hands." He tells her and she puts her hand down and I smiled

"I'm Elizabeth"

"Great. So we're set up in here. The apartment's directly across the courtyard. The guys just left to get breakfast." She tells us as we follow her into another room

"What do we know about them?" Spencer asked

"Roman Azarof and Taras Yudin work at a trucking company in Anacostia, but really it's just a front for the Russian mob. Roman's bad news. He assaulted a shopkeeper with a chainsaw back in 2008." She says lifting up the bed revealing pictures taped to a board underneath

"Which one has the uncle that may have kidnapped Sophie Troy?" I asked her

"Taras." She tells us and moves over to the closet opening it and I see lots of audio equipment, "But uncle is a loose term. As far as we know, Taras has no blood relatives in the U.S. He's only been here two years. It could be any older figure in this crime network." She turns and looks at us then starts to speak Russian looking at Spencer

He responds and I look between the two of them confused, she looks at me, "Oh Spanish is the only language I know, but that's what I have him for." I tell her nodding my head to Spencer who smiled

"You two married?" She asked us and we nodded our heads, "Mazel Tov. There's a lot of down time in surveillance. I hope you brought something to read." She says and I smiled

""Great Expectations." You like Charles Dickens?" Spencer asked her and she picked up the book, "Believe it or not, I haven't read him before. Figured it was high time to change that."

"He's great, that moment where Pip finally learns that Estella was always groomed to break men's hearts always-"

"I haven't gotten there yet." She says to Spencer cutting him off and I bit back a smile

"Oh, well, I think you're gonna like that part."

"Terrific." She tells him putting the book in his hand, "I'm gonna go put on a fresh pot of coffee." She said leaving the room

"Hmmm it's just like when you ruined How to Kill A Mockingbird for me." I tell him and rubbed his arm putting my bag down

* * *

"What's the layout of their place?" Spencer asked her as we look out the window

"Same as this one. The satellite dish outside the window is actually one of our parabolic mikes." She says and we hear keys jangling in the door on the audio, "They're back."

Me and Spencer put headphones to our ears and listen and we see the curtains open, "It's a woman." I said

"It's their cleaning lady, Fana." We hear Fana speaking African language

"She's speaking Yoruba. It's a western Nigerian dialect. She's talking to her mother." Spencer tells us, after a short bit Fana hangs up the phone as we see two men walking to the front door going inside

"What the hell? Why you have the curtains open?" Roman asked her

"So I could clean the windows."

"But what did we told you? Keep the damn curtains closed. How hard is it to remember?" Roman asks

"It won't happen again. I have to go and switch the laundry." Fana says and leaves

"She's an idiot." Roman said closing the curtains

"Hey, I just got a text from Dyadya. He says he'll need us soon. We should be ready with a truck. I gonna go down to the office." Taras tells him and leaves, me and Spencer remove our headphones and Spencer grabs his cup of coffee

"You speak Yoruba?" Loker asked him

"I can get by." He says then takes a drink, "This is really good coffee, by the way. Coffee's a language in itself."

"Who said that? Dickens?" She asked

"Jackie Chan." He tells her and I snorted taking a sip of my coffee and he looks at me

"How long have you two been married?"

"Little over a year now." I tell her and she nods her head.

"Kids?"

"A 4 month old boy." I say showing her the picture on my phone of the three of us.

"He's cute."

"He sure is, and he knows it" I said and Spencer smiled at me

* * *

"Hey, Garcia, what do you have?" Spencer asked answering his phone, I walked over and he moved the phone so I could hear

 _"Taras Yudin is a very horrible meanie."_

"What did he do?" I asked her

 _"In 2012 he was questioned in the brutal killing of a gang member's family in his hometown of Volga, but then there wasn't enough evidence, so the charges were dropped, and he left Russia."_

"Is there anyone else from his hometown in D.C.? Someone must have helped him when he first arrived here. It could be Dyadya." Spencer says

 _"Oh, it's hard to tell with all the disposable cell phones he uses, but keep looking will I."_

"All right, thank you so much, Garcia. Bye." Spencer says hanging up the phone

"Something's going on." Loker tells us holding the headphone so we can hear

 _"Dyadya told you he'd get two million ransom?"_ Roman asked Taras

 _"Yeah."_

 _"That's not what I heard at the club. I heard Dyadya's getting 20 million."_ Roman says _, "20 million. That's a lot of money. Son of a bitch has been lying to you. And what was he gonna give us, a measly 5 grand?"_

 _"I don't believe it."_ Taras tells him

 _"You don't believe it, talk to Ivan."_

"Who's Ivan?" I asked

"A bartender at the local strip club. We have a source down there." Loker tells us and I grab my phone to call Aaron

"Aaron, hey, the ransom changed. It used to just be two million." I tell him

 _"Alright, Elizabeth thank you"_ He says and hangs up

* * *

Loker excused herself to the bathroom and I took over listening to the wiretap, "You know, it's to bad she's here" I whispered to Spence

"Why's that?" He asked looking at me

"Cause we could make out" I tell him with a smirk

"You're evil" He says and I giggle, a few minutes later Loker walked back into the room and I got up going over to the window and I see Fana walk into the house

 _"Ah, where the hell have you been?"_ Roman asked her

 _"I went to the store. You needed more detergent."_

 _"Well, you better start cleaning more."_ He says to her

 _"I've been doing it."_

 _"This place is a pigsty. What are we paying you for? You smell like something. What is it?"_ He asked

 _"Bleach probably."_

 _"No, no, it's more like perfumy. It's like the woods or flowers or something."_

 _"Please-"_ She begs him and I clench my jaw

 _"But is good. I like. Come, come and dance with me."_

"Stop it, please!" She pleaded and there was a slap sound

 _"Come on."_

 _"Leave me alone!"_ She tells him and I lean on the window ledge gripping it

 _"You've been teasing me for months. You little bitch. You think you're too good for me?"_ Roman asked her

"We should do something." I say to Loker

"We can't."

"He's beating her up." I said facing her and Spencer looked at me

"You bust in there, you blow the entire case. Yours and mine. Think of the big picture. You want to kill Sophie Troy, or thousands of people if the missile shipment gets out?" She asked me and I faced the window again and I see Taras walk into the house

 _"Uhh!"_ Fana grunts then whimpers

 _"What's going on?"_

 _"Nothing. She was getting smart with me, but, uh, she learned her lesson. Go. Go! Clean yourself up. Well?"_

 _"You're right. Dyadya's getting 20 million."_ Taras says to him and I walked past Spencer out of the room into the kitchen

"Are you okay?" Spencer asked me putting his hand on my shoulder

"No, no I'm not I really just want to punch something right now and I wish it could be that guys face."

He pulls me into a hug which I returned, "I know sweetie, it's gonna be okay." He reassured me rubbing my back

* * *

We hear a phone ring over the wiretap, _"Hello."_ Roman answered, _"No, he can't talk right now. He's in the bathroom. Who's this? Ah, you're Dyadya. No, I didn't know. Uh-huh. Yeah. I'll tell him."_ He says then hangs up, _"Dyadya just called."_

 _"Oh, yeah? What did he say?"_ Taras asked him

 _"He said he left two messages. Wants to know why you haven't called him back yet."_

 _"I didn't get them."_ Taras tells him

 _"Or maybe you did and just didn't tell me?"_

 _"Seriously? Come on, now, you drunk. Roman, it's me."_ Taras says

 _"He wants us to meet him in an hour with a truck. We're supposed to bring ski masks."_

 _"All right, let's go."_ Taras tells him and we hear Fana gasp

 _"What the hell? Are you spying on us? Why are you hiding in the closet?"_ Roman asked her

"This isn't good." Spencer says and I start to bite my nail

* * *

 _"How long you been in there, huh? What did you hear?"_ Roman asked her

 _"Nothing, I swear."_

 _"Who do you work for?"_ He asked

"I think they're just messing with her. They won't hurt her." Loker says to us

"We don't know that." I tell her and Spencer's cell phone rings

 _"Who is it?"_

"Rossi, hold on." Spencer says over the phone

 _"There's no one."_ Fana tells Roman

 _"You're a lying bitch. It's the damn feds, isn't it?"_

 _"She has to die."_ Taras says and I hear a gun cock, I get up and start walking towards the door with Spencer following me

 _"Oh, please, don't!"_ Fanna pleaded while crying then we hear a gunshot

"Stop, stop. Listen." Loker says to us stopping me before I could grab the door handle

 _"Is he dead?"_ Fana asked and I looked at Spencer

 _"Yeah."_

"It's more complicated than we thought." Spencer tells Rossi over the phone and pauses, "Roman's dead. Just wait a minute."

"I should have killed him sooner, sweetheart." Taras tells her and I looked at both pf them shocked

"Are they..." I started to ask

"Yeah, I think so."

 _"Get your things. We're leaving."_ Taras tells her

 _"What about Dyadya?"_ Fana asked him

 _"His contact is pissed that he asked for more ransom, but she'll pay if the wife is dead. We're supposed to pick up the body and dump it. But listen to me. We don't have to do any of this. We can take the money, or we can run away."_

"Rossi, the unsub's a woman. I don't think we should arrest anyone yet. They're leaving now. They might lead us to Sophie." Spencer tells him and I sighed as Spencer puts his hand on my shoulder to calm me down, I was about to go save the wrong person

* * *

 **JJ POV...**

Me, Morgan, Garcia, Rossi and Kate stood in the bullpen area watching the news footage Madison Young did earlier with the congressman

 _"Is there something you want to say to your wife?"_

 _"Yes. Sophie, you're my entire world. And I want you to fight and don't give up. I want you to come back to me. Oh... I can't."_

 _"That was the Congressman speaking to me in an exclusive interview yesterday afternoon, and this was him an hour ago."_

 _"I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the FBI, in particular the BAU, for bringing my Sophie back to me. I am and I will be eternally grateful."_

"Call me a softie, but this whole thing is turning me into mush." Garcia says

"You know, according to online polls, his approval ratings are skyrocketing." I point out

"We may be looking at a future President of the United States." Rossi adds

"He is a tall drink of water." Garcia says and I smile

"Speaking of pretty boys, where's Reid?" Morgan asked

"And...Elizabeth?" I asked then looked at the others and we all smiled, "Nevermind"

TBATG

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"How long do we have?" Spencer asked me as we made our way into the bedroom pulling at each others clothes

"I told Amanda to drop him off in an hour." I tell him and he removes my shirt throwing it onto the floor then laid me down on the bed

"So many things we can do in an hour." He tells me and I unbuttoned his shirt taking it off of him and he kissed me sliding his tongue into my mouth, I moaned fisting my hands into his hair and he worked on taking off my pants moving his mouth from mine down my jaw to my neck kissing and biting at it then moved down to my breasts kissing the tops of them while squeezing them

"Oh Spence" I moaned and he moved down to my stomach running his hands up my sides then moved further down, "What are you..." I started to ask but threw my head back when I felt his mouth and tongue run along my thighs before he started attacking my center with his mouth, "Oh god Spencer!" I moaned putting my fingers in his hair again biting my lip, I bucked my hips against him when I felt him insert two fingers and started pumping them while still licking and sucking my center, "Oh God!" I moaned out loud as I orgasmed, I started panting as he kissed his way back up before wiping his mouth.

I moved my hands down and unbuckled his belt undoing his pants then slid them down and he positioned himself between my legs propping one of them on his arm and pushed into me then started moving his hips going slow at first but then picked up the pace, I squeezed my eyes shut and bit my lip as he started kissing my neck. Next thing I knew he pulled out of me and turned me around so I was on my stomach and he lifted my hips and he entered me again, I couldn't believe how turned on I was right now seeing this side of him

"Oh Liz" He moaned picking up the pace and I gripped my hands into my pillow

"Oh god! Oh...OHH!" I moaned as I hit my peak again and after a few more thrusts and grunts Spencer finished as well. I laid down and he laid down next to me, we were both panting pretty hard trying to catch our breath, "Where..on earth did that come from?" I asked him and he chuckled

"Remember that book I read for that case with the guy who acted out from Bare Reflections?" He asked and I nodded my head, "Let's just say I got some tips from it." He says and I turn to face him

"Well I think it is safe to say you learned well from it." I tell him and he kissed me

"I love you"

"I love you too, and if you give a few minutes I'll show you just how much." I tell him and he cocked his eyebrow at me


	39. Chapter 39

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **A/N: I'm basically going to put Morgan's parts as Elizabeth's just because it'll make sense towards the end. I hope you enjoy.**

"Why don't we just start with the simplest explanation? They're lying." I tell the others as we sit in the round room looking at the files

"There are easier lies to tell to cover for murder. Why tell the same one, especially when it doesn't make sense?" JJ asked

"Could it be a group delusion?" Kate asked as well

"Their similar age range all points in that direction, 33 to 34 years old, but the geographic diversity kind of rules that out." Spencer replied

"Yeah. Larry Merrin's from Topeka. Christine McNeil is from Roswell, Georgia, Daniel Karras is from Derry, Maine, all different economic levels, social circles, obviously different racial backgrounds. So if he's an unsub.." Garcia starts to say

"He's not killing but creating killers. Murder by proxy, if you will." Rossi adds

"It's gotta be drugs. Larry Merrin's story just sounds like a bad trip." I point out

"According to the police reports, all 3 tox screens came up negative." Garcia tells me

"Well, they only screen for known compounds. This could be a cocktail we've never seen before." JJ brought up

"Every drug affects every person differently, yet somehow this unsub is able to make his drug affect 3 completely dissimilar people exactly in the same way." Spencer mentions

"Maybe they're not dissimilar at all. Maybe the drugs are just the tipping point and these 3 share some sort of pre-existing mental condition he knows he can tap into to induce them to kill. We find that, we find him." Aaron tells us

* * *

"Did she feel a lot of pain?" Daniel asked me and JJ as he set the photos down, "Did I kill her quickly?"

"Mr. Karras, we want to get to the bottom of this, too. So we'd like to take you through a cognitive interview." I say to him

"What's the point?"

"It could help you remember details you couldn't before. And those details could help us understand what happened. So, please. Close your eyes." JJ tells him and he closed them, "And put yourself back in your home a week ago. You got home from work early, right?" She asked him

"Right."

"How did you feel when you walked through the door?" She asked

"Happy, I called for my mom but she wasn't home. And then I remembered she said that she was going to the movies with some friends. I thought my beer tasted funny. And then I realized it wasn't my beer, that it was a smell that was coming from somewhere else." He tells us

"What was the smell?" JJ asked

"Sage." He tells her and we share a look

"You're sure about that?" I asked him

"Yeah. Yeah, because once I placed it, I was out." Daniel said

"How long were you out?" JJ asked him

"I don't know. All I know is that when I came to, it was dark and I couldn't move, then I hear a growling noise, It did sexual things to me. He had these-these- these talons for hands, and... Uh, I got-I got free and then I, um... And then I hid somewhere in the house, and, uh... Next thing I remember, I was standing over my mom's body...And the cops were cuffing me. I... So...So, I- maybe-maybe-you know, maybe the rape, you know, uh... Maybe I snapped. You know? You know what I mean? Maybe I snapped and, uh, I lashed out at the first person that I saw."

"Mr. Karras-" I started to say

"Just listen because this is the only way that it makes sense."

"At your lawyer's insistence, the Maine police ran a rape kit on you. There was no evidence of assault, sexual or otherwise." I tell him

"Ok, well, run another rape kit."

"No rope burns on your arms or legs. No evidence of a break-in at all." JJ says to him

"What you guys trying to tell me, that this didn't happen to me? 'Cause it did!" He says and sniffles, "There are others."

"Excuse me?" JJ asked him

"My lawyer said that there were others that this happened to."

"That's right." I tell him

"Well, can I talk to them?" He asked me

"No."

"Why not?" He asked

* * *

"The plastic tested positive for sevoflurane and scopolamine, both powerful disassociatives. The first is used to put you into a waking dream. Dentists often use it during oral surgery. The second, in high doses, makes you completely suggestible." Spencer tells us holding up an evidence bag

"The unsub uses the first to make the victims hallucinate their worst fear." Kate says

"Then he uses the second to make them attack that fear when it's really the person next to them. They don't realize that they're actually killing someone that they love." I added

"And once they do, their lives are ruined forever. Even if they plead insanity, we've got 3 victims who ain't never goin' back to Mayberry." Rossi inputs

"Let's go back to the part about hallucinating your worst fear. JJ, what's your earliest fear from childhood?" Aaron asked her

"Being separated from my parents."

"Dave?" He asked

"Lon Chaney, "Phantom of the Opera." she takes off that mask, forget about it." Rossi says and I chuckled

"Kate?"

"Melissa Gordner. That bitch." Kate answered

"And yet each of these victims saw exactly the same thing." Aaron adds

"The initial police reports only called it a dark figure, but our interviews revealed shared details. A shadow monster with talons for hands." Spencer points out

"And that level of specificity says it's not just a childhood nightmare, it's something they actually experienced, though they were too young to understand what it was." Aaron mentions

"But they were from different states." JJ says

"No, they were adopted in different states. Maybe at some point they shared the same group home." Kate inputted

"So the unsub has them recall that memory from childhood to make them kill as adults. How do we prove it?" I asked and Aaron walked away

* * *

"All right, let's assume all the victims share Bill Kinderman's propensity for recovered memories. What does that mean for the unsub?" Aaron asked us

"It means his drugs would have more of an effect on them." JJ replied

"Why them more than a normal person?" Kate asked

"Because when something's remembered for the first time on a therapist's couch, it's often a fantasy the patient is talking themselves into believing. Popular thinking is that recovered memories are actually just a form of self-hypnosis. That's why the patients are so convinced the delusion is real." Spencer answered

"So if these victims are already talking themselves into believing fiction, they would be more suggestible when they're dosed." Rossi says

"We profiled these victims had a pre-existing condition. I think this is it." Aaron pointed out

"How would the unsub know that?" I asked

"Because he was there the last time they made up a story, in 1985." Aaron tells us

"So they were only 3-4 years old. Kids that age can't distinguish fantasy from reality." JJ mentioned

"Exactly. And their age plus the time period puts us right at the height of the satanic ritual abuse allegations." Aaron says and I closed my eyes

"Oh, crap." Rossi groaned

"This is a completely different set of circumstances." Kate says to Aaron

"Was it? Throughout the 1980s, pre-school-age kids made accusations against their teachers."

"McMartin, Fells Acres, Kern County. 270 cases by 1988. Numerous innocent teachers had their careers and lives ruined, and all the cases were ultimately debunked." Spencer says

"By the BAU and the Lanning Report, thank you very much." Rossi tells him and I smirked

"Except that was a mass hysteria involving teachers and kids, and these victims were adopted." Kate tells them

"Well, that's the deviation that made us miss the profile until now. 30 years ago these victims could have made similar accusations in a foster home, all saying the same thing, that they saw this." Aaron said showing us the drawings of what our suspects saw

"3-year-old Larry Merrin would have said the monster dragged him down the stairs." Rossi says

"And 4-year-old Daniel Karras one-upped it by adding a sexual detail. That's how kids tell stories, especially when they're reinforced by well-meaning parents, therapists, and cops." I added

"And in doing so, they ruin the unsub's life, and now he's taking revenge." Aaron says

"Ok, so if this is the why, how do we find him?" JJ asked him

"We talk to Christine McNeil. Maybe she can tell us where the foster home was."

"Flag on the play there. She's not talking to anyone." Rossi says to Aaron

"Maybe she will."

* * *

 **Aaron POV...**

"So what's your plan?" Dave asked me as we stand outside the interigation room

"I want to see if the unsub's signature has any effect on her." I tell him

"We don't know his signature."

"Oh, we do. Scopolamine and sevoflurane are both odorless and tasteless, but he introduces the smell of sage to the drugs." I say to him opening the box I was holding which had a sage bundle in it

"Clever. But why her and not the others?" He asked me

"The act of recounting a false memory hardens it into fact. Larry Merrin and Daniel Karras have both told us their stories. Christine hasn't."

"You're thinking you can interrupt the process." He says to me

"Maybe."

"And if you're wrong, you can return that stuff to Garcia." He says and we walk into the room, I take the sage out and light it setting it back on the plate, Christine stops tapping her head and slowly looks at it

"Christine. Can you hear me?" I ask her

"Yes. I'm hungry. Is it snack time?"

"Yes, of course. We can get you something to eat. What would you like?" I asked

"I want a Snoopy sno cone. Grape flavor."

"How old are you, Christine?" I asked her as she continued to look at the burning sage

"4."

"And where do you live? Where's home?" I asked

"Home is scary."

"Christine, you're safe here. Nothing's going to happen to you." I reassured her

"That's not true. That's not true." She says and started to scratch at her face, "He's coming. He's-he's coming." She panicked continuing to attack her face

"Who's coming?" I asked her

"He's on the other side of the door." She says and the lights atart to flicker, "He's coming! He's coming! He's coming! He's coming! Aah!" She screamed cutting her skin with her nails and the lights went out, "He's coming! He's coming!"

"Christine, stop!"

"Aah! He's coming! He's coming! He's coming! He's coming!"

"Shh, shh, shh. Christine, where's home?" I asked her taking her hands away from her face

"I can't. I can't. He's coming. He's coming."

"Who is coming? Who is coming?" I asked again

"Mr. Scratch." She tells me and gasped, "He's already here."

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"This is cozy." Kate says lighting a candle and handing it to me

"Do we have any idea what's going on yet?" I asked as Spencer stood next to me

"Garcia's trying to get some answers. Power's out in the whole building. Backup generator, too." Aaron tells us walking into the room

"This guy's got some mojo. He knocked us out right when we got our best lead." Rossi says

"We could cross-reference the name Mr. Scratch against old statements. We'd have to go to the paper files." Spencer mentioned

"We don't have time. This unsub's probably already found every kid that made an accusation from back then." JJ tells him

"If we don't get back online soon or get a lucky break in this case, we're gonna be looking at more drugged victims and dead bodies." I tell them

"Ahem." Garcia calls to us and we look at her, "Getting online is gonna be a lot harder than you think."

* * *

"Whoever engineered this, he did a complete and total network and infrastructure shutdown." Garcia tells us as we walk into the round room

"But I thought we had firewalls to protect from this kind of breach." Aaron says to her

"We totally do. And that's what scares me. Ok? Look, look. I managed to capture some of his hacking code on one of the hard drives before he could fry it. I printed this out at the copy shop. This is what I can tell you. It's the only thing, but it's good news. He wasn't hacking us. He was looking for something in the Witness Protection files, 'cause that's what he raided first."

"Do we know who in Witness Protection?" I asked her

"Well, that's the $64,000 question, isn't it? And that I will pay you $64,000 if you can answer it. His encryption algorithms are beyond the beyond the beyond."

"We're not gonna find him through his computer expertise. Certainly not now. We need to figure out why he'd take the risk to hack us." Rossi says

"It's like JJ said. He's looking for every kid who made an accusation. One of them is in Witness Protection." Kate points out

"And he saved them for last because if he kills that target first, we'd be on him immediately." JJ adds

"Huh." Spencer mumbled and we looked at him

"What? You see something?" I asked him

"Encryption's a highly specialized skill set, but it's fundamentally a mathematical process, which means it's a human process, but sometimes your technique can reveal where you learned it. I think I know where he learned how to do this."

"Where?" Kate asked

"Harvard. Which oddly enough isn't known for its advanced math program, but it is known for one particular class. When you're good at math, you're good enough to get into Harvard, you take a math class called Math 15. When you're better than that, you take Math 25, but when you're the best, the absolute best, you take Math 55- honors advanced calculus and linear algebra. Graduates are immediately employed by the U.S. government because they're too dangerous to work anywhere else. More specifically, they're employed at the NSA."

"Oh, sir, that would make a lot of sense." Garcia says to Aaron and he takes out his phone and walks away

"This is Agent Hotchner for Mr. Axelrod. No, I won't hold. Tell him he has 20 minutes to meet me."

* * *

 **Aaron POV...**

 _"Peter Lewis. Born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. To call him a math genius would be an understatement."_ Garcia tells me over the phone

"Where was he in the foster system?" I asked her as I drove

 _"He was-gahh! This Wi-Fi hot spot is the worst. He was not in the foster care system. He had two very biological parents and they ran the foster home until it- Oh, dear."_

 _"Looks like we found Mr. Scratch."_ Dave says

 _"So one of the boys in the house said Peter's dad would dress up as the devil and the other kids would follow suit. This has to be where all the victims stayed before they were adopted and their names were changed."_ JJ adds

"Did Lewis' father serve any time?" I asked Garcia

"Uh, the case was pending, and then he was killed in jail for being a pedophile. Peter's residency is still listed as Florida."

"Then he broke into the FBI files to find out who went into Witness Protection. Did any of the kids from the home go into WITSEC?" I asked

 _"That would be a... No. No, none of them."_

 _"Who the hell is he still hunting?"_ JJ asked

"Garcia, who ran the investigation in Florida?" I asked her

 _"Uh, hold on. Dr. Susannah Regan, who was responsible for many of the investigations during the day. She was a member of the "Believe the Children" movement, which encouraged cops to believe anything the kid said about the SRA, and if the kiddos didn't have anything to say, she'd tell the cops to twist their arms until they did. And then her book was published."_

 _"And we came out with the Lanning Report and debunked her."_ Dave adds

 _"Uh-huh. Her career flopped and she received numerous death threats and she went into Witness Protection."_ Garcia says

 _"She's such a high-profile target, Peter had to wait before he could kill her."_ JJ pointed out

 _"If he's bold enough to hit Quantico, he knows it's a one-way ticket. This is a suicide mission if he locates her before we do."_ Dave says

 _"Which would be on a very nice estate in Columbia, Maryland."_

"I'm closest. Send me the address." I tell her

"Sent."

* * *

"Dr. Regan." I said after knocking on the door and it opened, I had my gun drawn as I made my way inside

"It's open. Come in."

"Are you all right?" I asked her

"Agent Hotchner? I got Agent Rossi's message."

"Doctor, you're in danger. You need to leave the house." I say to her as I make my way through the front of the house

"I understand. I'm in the study. I'm so glad you're here." I hear her say as I turn and face her in the study, "You need to see this. He wants you to see this." She says holding a knife and stabs herself in the neck

"No!" I yell rushing over to her, as I kneel down next to her something is sprayed in my face, I whip around and start shooting, I grab a pitcher of water splashing it in my face but I get sprayed in the face again, I reached for my other gun but I get knocked out

When I come to I hear my phone vibrating, I look and see Peter Lewis sitting in a chair in front of me, "You can't move. Because I say you can't move. Do you see how this works? You do what I say."

"Peter..."

"I didn't say you could talk." He says to me and I look over at Dr. Regan, "Don't cry for her. She was stupid. And wrong. She used to burn sage during the sessions. She said that made it safe to talk about Mr. Scratch. What do you see when you look at me? Do you see Mr. Scratch?" He asked me and I hear my phone vibrate again, "You can talk now. I want to know what-I want to know what you're feeling."

"That's my team. They know I'm here. They're gonna come looking for me, and if you harm me-" I started to tell him

"What are you talking about? Your phone isn't ringing."

"It was ringing."

"No, it wasn't. Very interesting." He says

"You gave yourself away just now."

"I did?" He asked

"You slipped up." I tell him

"How do you figure?"

"You have no idea, do you?" I ask him and started chuckling, 'You said that she... She would... burn sage. But how would you know that? Unless she questioned you, too. I know, Peter. I know how those interviews worked, how coercive they were... with children who were innocent and helpless."

"Shut up."

"She questioned you about your father. And she wouldn't stop until she got the answers she wanted. So you gave them to her." I continued

"Shut up." He says to me, he looked like he was going to cry as he held the gun to my head, "Oh, that was good. Oh, that was so good. That was so impressive. The way you got into my head. It makes me want to know how I get into yours." He tells me and I hear vehicles approach, "You were right. They did coming calling for you."

"They'll kill you."

"Are you sure about that?" He asked me

 **Elizabeth POV...**

We arrive at the house of Dr. Regan and headed inside, I split off into the kitchen with Rossi while JJ went with Spencer, suddenly I hear a gunshot

"Shots fired Spence is down!" JJ yells from the other room and my heart stops but before I can react shots are fired at me and Rossi, we duck down and started firing back, when they stop we see the kitchen door swing keeping our guns raised looking around for Peter. Just then I hear another gunshot and Rossi falls down, I move over and fire my gun hitting Peter then move to Rossi.

"Rossi where are you hit?" I asked him but he struggles to talk, "Aaron talk to me damn it!"

"In here" I hear him say and I look at Rossi

"Go! Go" He tells me and I started walking and looked at Peter who was on the ground

"Where?" I asked him

"Here, in the study" He says and I move over to him

 **Aaron POV...**

Elizabeth makes her way over to me, "Where, where is he?" I asked her

"I shot him he's down"

"Elizabeth!" I shouted when I see Peter come out from around the corner and he shoots her in the neck and she falls down holding it, he walks over and looks at me as I sit there looking at my sister laying on the floor dying in front of me.

"Now I know what scares you." He says and points the gun at her

"No!" I yelled but he shot her in the head, "No!" I snap out of the illusion and see Peter still sitting there in front of me, "Son of a bitch, son of a bitch."

"It's okay you can move now" He says to me and I hear a vehicle approach, _No_ , "And here, I have something for you." He tells me handing me a knife then kneeled behind me, "I'm about to come through that door, kill me before I kill you

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Elizabeth, Reid, take the front. JJ and I will take the back. Watch your front sight. One of ours is in there." Rossi tells us as we near the house with our guns drawn.

 **Aaron POV...**

"My gun. I need my gun." I tell him and he throws my gun down in front of me and I grab it aiming it at the door

"Look. Here I come. Kill me." He says and backs away, just as the front door opens and I see Elizabeth walk in I turn around and shoot Peter getting him in the shoulder

"Aaron!" She yells running over to me, "We need a medic in here!" She says into her radio and puts her hand on my shoulder

"Elizabeth, take it." I tell her handing her my gun,"He made me see things. He made me see things."

"Ok." She says pulling me into a hug

"He's gone." I hear Reid say as I continued to hold my sister, it may have been an illusion but it felt so real watching her die in front of me, that has always been one of my worst fears.

* * *

I sat in a chair with my hand on my head leaning forward, "He surrendered" Reid tells me as they walk over and l lift my head up

"Ambulance is on it's way." Elizabeth says

"He surrendered? That doesn't make sense." I tell them

"We need to get you looked at." Elizabeth says to me and I stand up

"I'm fine."

"Hey, this is not a suggestion." She yells after me but I walk to the front door and watch as Rossi and JJ walk Peter to the cop car, he turns and looks at me then taps his finger to his head then gets in the car

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"I'm fine. Thank you." I hear Aaron say to the EMT as I walk over

"You have to talk about it." I tell him

"Not tonight."

"Yes, tonight, while it's still fresh." I said

"I can't. It doesn't... Parts of it don't make sense to me." He says and I grab his hand

"They don't have to. Tell me what it smelled like. Tell me how you felt. Start at the beginning, start at the end, I don't care. But start." I tell him, "Now, what do you remember?" I asked him and he stares off, "Aaron? Aaron?" I tried getting his attention and he looked at me

"This is what happened."

 **A/N: Phew that last bit was hard to write, I hope you enjoyed it and please feel free to be blunt with your reviews I welcome all criticism.**


	40. Chapter 40

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Although the observable universe is continually expanding, there's really no way of knowing if the whole thing is gonna ultimately collapse into one gargantuan black hole." Spencer stood there telling us

"Wow, there's actually something our little genius doesn't know." Morgan tells me and JJ and we chuckled as Kate walked over

"I will tell you one thing for sure. My universe is expanding and it is pretty frickin' stormy. Gotta love nausea and vertigo."

"Which is why I got you these." JJ says to her holding up ginger ale and saltines

"You're the best." She says and her phone chimes

"What's up?" I asked her

"I'm not sure. It's Meg. We have a panic code, "pepper," and...I just got a text from her saying pepp." She says and starts to dial her phone

"Maybe it's just an accident?" JJ asked

"Damn it. Straight to voicemail."

"Meg still acting out?" Morgan asked her and she dials her phone again

"Hi. Caroline, this is Kate. Can I talk to Meg?" She asked and there was a pause, "Science project at my house." She said and I looked at Spencer then back at Kate, "I don't know, but they could be in trouble. Can you just conference in Markayla?" There was another pause, "Ok, stay put. I'm gonna have agents there ASAP." She tells her and hang up then walks away

* * *

"Because of our work, I created very strict rules for Meg. That stress code, it was given for a reason." Kate informed us

"Canning, I just sent you the GPS coordinates of their last known position. Set up neighborhood canvasses and roadblocks." Aaron tells her

"On it."

"It's not good." Garcia says setting down her laptop, "I just got a shot of the girls, uh, from a video feed across the street from the library."

"Oh, my God." Kate says and I put my hand on her shoulder rubbing it

"Baby girl, capture that plate right there." Morgan told her

"I already did. Searching."

"And look at the time stamp I got Meg's text two minutes later." Kate tells us

"Ok, plates are stolen and I've got no shot of the driver." Garcia says

"Issue the AMBER Alert with the girls' pictures and the description of the van." Aaron told Canning and she walked out

"Anything in the girls' email accounts?" Rossi asked her

"This is really discombobulated. I've got no text data or calls from the cell phone company servers for either of the girls."

"Ok, so whoever took them planned this and got rid of their texts." Kate points out

"We're still up in the air about M.O." Morgan mentions

"Most likely scenario, she was lured via social networking." Spencer says

"I'll have Facebook push the AMBER Alert." JJ tells Kate

"All right, JJ, you and Dave go to the Davises' and check out Markayla's computer. You two talk to friends." Aaron said to Spencer and Morgan, "And Garcia, Elizabeth and I will come to your house, Kate." He tells her and she nods her head looking at the screen, I nodded to Spencer as him and Morgan left and I turned to Kate

"Hey, it's gonna be okay, no matter what we will get them back, but stress isn't good for the baby." I tell her and she nods, I can see the tears in her eyes and I hugged her which she returned, "Let's go find your little girl." I tell her and we left

* * *

"A stranger's van? That's crazy. Why would Meg to that?" Chris asked Kate

"Remember that date she had with her classmates at the mall?" She asked him

"Yeah, but she was stood up by Bobby and Tyler."

"What if it wasn't real?" Kate asked

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"Garcia, can you check Meg and Markayla's class list for boys named Bobby and Tyler?" Kate asked her

"Yeah. There's no Robert, Bob, or a Ty either."

"See? It was a setup." Kate points out

"So someone's been stalking our kid?" Chris asked her

"You being there that night saved them."

"This can't be happening." Chris says

"Help the agents with the missing flyers and I'm gonna go through her things." She tells him and he walks away and Kate goes to the closet

"Yeah, yeah."

"Garcia, can you see if Meg has been emailing any boys." Aaron tells her and I walk over to Kate

"Anything missing?" I asked her

"Yeah, something's wrong." She tells me and pulls out her phone, "Hey, did Markayla take her good clothes with her?" She asked over the phone, "Meg took her favorite Jean jacket and boots. These girls were definitely planning on meeting boys, just maybe not the ones that they thought." She says and hands the phone to Aaron

"What have you got?" He asked Garcia

"Uh, it's a ghost town. The hard drives are wiped clean. There's no instant messenger or Skype history. There's not even a user name."

"Dave, can you turn on Markayla's computer so Garcia can scan it." Aaron asks him

 _"Powering up now."_

"Ok, I got it. Zilch on Markayla's, too. These perps are thoroughly thorough." Garcia says

"Aaron, they took the two girls at once. This must be an abduction team." Rossi tells him and my heart drops

* * *

"She's ok, but the doctors want her on bed rest for now." Chris tells us sitting next to Kate

"Kate, you have to be very careful." I tell her

"I need to find Meg."

"You're no good to anyone if you pass out. Garcia will set up video conferencing." Aaron tells her and looks at his phone

"What? What is it?" Kate asked him

"Morgan confirmed that the boy that Meg and Markayla went to meet was named Bobby."

"Do they have his number?" She asked

"No, just a picture." He tells her showing her the phone

"What's wrong? Do you know that kid?" Chris asked her

"No. But I know who took them."

* * *

"Go ahead, Kate." Aaron tells her turning on the screen

 _"After we closed the Riverside torso case, I couldn't let it go, so I revisited the crime scenes and starting asking questions."_

"Aaron, you looked at that case, too, and the evidence indicated the torso killer was working alone." Rossi tells him

"Kate's working a different tangent."

 _"I also kept tabs on missing women. There was a female jogger in Modesto, Eileen Banks, categorized as voluntary missing, but oddly killed in a car accident a few weeks later all the way in Maryland. She was never autopsied."_ Kate tells us

"How is that related to this?" Canning asked

 _"She had been flirting on line with a young new boyfriend before she ran off, but it was the same Bobby in that picture from Sam. It must have been the same group that took the girls."_ Kate answered

"If this is related to that case, then these abductors are mobile." Morgan says

"We'll get an emergency warrant, we'll exhume the jogger's body and do an autopsy." Aaron tells us

"I'll expedite it with judge Lynch." Canning tells him

 _"They were taken because of me. I was getting close."_ Kate said

"You were doing your job, Kate." Rossi reassured her

"The unsub knew that grabbing an FBI agent's daughter would bring a firestorm down upon him." Spencer points out

"He's an extreme risk-taker." JJ adds

"Ok, I got the 411 on this Bobby photo. It originated 6 years ago. Guy's name is Sven Sorensen, from Sweden. He's now 25. He still lives in Europe."

"They used the picture to lure the girls." Kate points out

"Whoever did this is most likely not a pedophile, but rather a preferential adult offender and long-term child abductor." Spencer mentions

"But he targeted the girls." I tell him

"Yeah, because I was targeting him." Kate says

* * *

"Not only did they wipe the girls' devices clean, they went after Kate because she was digging into missing persons cases." Spencer tells us

"Because Kate was onto something." JJ points out

"Yeah, this isn't some loner who wants to keep girls in a dungeon. This feels like trafficking." Morgan brought up

"That's the worst-case scenario." Caaning says

"Well, if it is trafficking, the upside is we've got a better chance of finding the girls alive." Aaron said

"Yeah, but if they don't comply, they'll be beaten into submission or killed if they try to escape." I point out

* * *

"He killed him. He killed him right in front of me." Markayla tells me, Aaron and Canning as we stand in the room of the hospital, I was holding my phone so Kate could hear over the speaker

"It's ok, Markayla. You're ok now. But we need to know, who were you meeting at the library?" I asked her

"It was supposed to be Bobby. We were talking to him for a few months online. He seemed so cool. He said he had tickets to the 4for1 concert tonight, but he got stuck at work, so his mom picked us up instead."

"And she was driving the van?" I asked

"Yes. And she seemed nice, too, until we started asking about Bobby." She tells me

"And what did she do?"

"She locked the doors. Suddenly this guy popped up from the back and stabbed us in the neck." She says

"Can you describe either of them?" Canning asked her

"They were white with brown hair. The creepy guy they gave us to had a wide face.

"I'll get a sketch artist." i tell Canning

"We had a plan." Markayla tells us

"What was the plan?"

"Meg said Kate taught her what to do." She tells us and explained what their plan was

"That's right. Kidnappers are most vulnerable at transfer points." I point out

"Did the older man say anything about where he was taking you?" Aaron asked her

"No, he just said he had plans for us. And then I ran. And that's when he shot the younger guy for losing me. Look, I didn't want to leave Meg, but she said you guys would never stop looking for her. That's what she said. That's what she said." Markayla tells us and starts crying, her mom comforts her as I take Kate off speaker phone

"Ok. Did you get all that, Kate?"

 _"I told Meg everything. I told her about sadists and that the only way to undermine them was to not show fear."_ Kate tells me and I can hear the worry in her voice

"You taught her well, Kate. She can get through this." I reassured her

* * *

"Meg Callahan has been abducted by a sophisticated sex trafficking ring." Aaron tells the rest of our department

"It's a mobile operation. That's why it's gone undetected for so long." Canning adds

"A broker leads the ring with a male accomplice and a female accomplice." Morgan mentions

"They find victims and tailor their abduction plan to each of their vulnerabilities." Spencer says

"And then the victims are sold, most likely online to buyers who've been vetted by their team." I added

"If it's trafficking, couldn't the girl be on a ship to Saudi Arabia by now?" An agent asked us

"Well, we're hoping they lay low until the searchers are called off. A male accomplice was shot dead by the broker, suggesting infighting and tension." Morgan tells him

"This could give us an opening. We'll continue going door to door." Canning says

"As you all know, Meg is part of this family. We do not rest until she's home safely. Thank you." Aaron finished

* * *

"Ok, here's my news flash. In the tri-state area, there have been half a dozen questionable missing persons cases." Garcia informs us

"Try the whole country." Rossi tells her

"All right, uh, California to Maine, there have been 50 in the last 7 years."

"That can't all be this unsub's group, can it?" Rossi asked

"My thoughts, exactamundo, good sir. Ok, uh, there were two accidental deaths that happened at the same time but 2,500 miles apart."

"If they're trafficking girls, why would they kill them?" I asked

"All with different M.O.s, too. Car accident, fire, shooting, drowning. And this isn't just one group. They're different killers." Morgan adds

"So there must be a serial abductor and the torso killer was just one of his customers." Spencer mentions

"What the hell kind of trafficking is this?" Canning asked us

"This isn't sex slavery. They're selling victims to serial killers." Aaron says and I felt like I was gonna throw up but I felt Spencer grab my hand and I looked at him

* * *

"The operation's actually simple. The killers get to live out their fantasies, and in exchange for supplying the victims, the brokers make them agree to a disposal method." Aaron tells us

"This way he and his team are insulated from the investigation." Rossi adds

"Just like in the torso case, the behavior and forensics of the kills will only lead us to the customer who actually did the killing, not the broker." Spencer points out

"He's smart enough to protect his network by encrypting all communication with his customers." JJ says

"So if we can capture a killer while he's online, then Garcia can hack his system and lead us right to Meg." Morgan mentions

"Just say the word." Garcia tells us

"Garcia, the accident that killed the jogger in Modesto, Eileen Banks, who hit her?" Aaron asked her

"Uh, Marcus Townsen hit the car over the embankment. He was admitted for minor injuries and then released."

"What's his background?" Canning asked asked

"Uh, searching. Holy heck, his license, registration, and insurance are all bogus."

"Well, if it was a car crash, they would have checked his blood alcohol level at the hospital." I mentioned

"Garcia, run the DNA of that blood sample through CODIS." Morgan tells her

"Ok, he's on a sex offender registry. His real name is Miles Hendrick. He started off stalking a neighbor's kid and got busted in the elementary school bathroom."

"Now he's graduated to does he live now?" Rossi asked her

"Largo, Maryland."

"Let's go." Aaron tells us and we leave

* * *

"They just arrested Miles Hendrick. They've got his computer. We need you to break in." Aaron tells Garcia as me, him and Spencer walked into her office

"What's his IP address?"

"Morgan just sent it to your email." Spencer told her

"Cool, I got it. Ok, I am in his hard drive. His browser history is triple encrypted. He's on Tor. Ok, this is like trying to penetrate a ceramic-infused titanium wall with a butter knife. It's not happening."

"They need to break Miles before Meg's sold off." I said

* * *

"I got Miles' password." Garcia tells us

"All right, find the website." Aaron tells her and I start to bite my nail but Spencer grabbed my hand

"On it, and... Sweet mother gross. It's like Tinder for sociopaths."

"They're selling women all over the country." Spencer says

"Do you see Meg anywhere?" I asked looking at the screen as Garcia scrolls through, "Wait, wait, wait. Go back. That's her. He dyed her hair." I tell them pointing to the screen

"She has been sold."

"Can you tell to whom?" Aaron asked her

"Um...No, 'cause the firewall's worse than the other one and I'm upset and I need help focusing."

"What about the IP address? That should lead us back to the broker." I tell her

"Yes, yes, very good, god you're smart. Uh...There it is. His name's Alex Zorgen. He's in Oakton, Virginia, and he's on his computer right now."

* * *

"I don't know."

"You're lying, Paige. We already found 3 girls hidden in your basement. Add that to the rest of the murders, you're gonna be in prison till the day you die." Spencer tells her and she turns away from him in the chair

"Why are you protecting him? 'Cause you know he is over there right now selling you out, making it seem like this was all your idea." I say to her

"That's what psychopaths do, Paige. They play people. All right, let us help you out and tell us where Meg is." Spencer adds and she looks at us

* * *

I walked into the interrogation room and sat in the chair across from Paige, "I know what you're going through, Paige. You're scared. You feel hopeless. You don't even know who to trust. Alex took you a very long time ago. He did horrible, horrible things to you. He raped you, tortured you. Then all of a sudden, he'd be nice."

"Shut up, you don't know him." She defended

"Your life was literally dependent on him. So you eventually did whatever he asked you to do. Cleaned, cooked, helped with his abductions. In your mind, your past life was lost. But you had the one person you loved most with you." I tell her and showed her the file with the picture of a dead body

"No... Kyle."

"We checked hospital and dental records and couldn't find any info. Kyle was your son." I point out to her

"He was our son." She says through her tears

"How could a father kill his own child? How could he- how could he do that to a mother?" I asked her

"I don't understand."

"Parents that kill their children are monsters. Now, you were under duress when you helped him. But my friend's daughter is gonna die if you don't help us right now. Who bought Meg, Paige? Where is she?" I begged

"He's one of Alex's best clients. He does... unspeakable things. And then he spreads the body parts in the Potomac."

"Where does he live" I asked

"I don't know." She tells me

"But you can reach him online?" I asked and she nodded her head

* * *

We pull up to the warehouse where Meg was, as we make our way into the building I hear Meg yell for help and I follow her voice, I near the room she's in just in time to see the unsub go towards her with a knife and I fire my gun shooting him. Morgan comes in shortly after and grabs onto her as she dangles from the chains by her hands.

"Get me down! Get me down! Get me down."

"I got you. I got you. You're ok." Morgan tells her holding her as Rossi releases her hands

"I did what Kate said." She tells me

"Are you ok?" I asked her as they got her down

"I did what Kate said." She says again and I put my hand on her shoulder

* * *

After I got back to the BAU Spencer pulls me into a hug and we stayed like that for a few minutes then he pulled away and looked at me, "Are you okay?"

"Better now." I tell him and he grabs my hand as we walk over to JJ who's sitting at her desk and we see her eating a saltine and I smiled up at Spencer.

"Not you, too." Spencer tells her and I giggled, "Am I getting another godson?"

"Possibly. Maybe a goddaughter." She tells him and we both hug her

* * *

When me and Spencer get home Amanda is asleep on the couch with Alexander in his bassinet next to her, I look at Spencer and smile then walk over to her and kneel down next to the couch, "Amanda" I say lightly shaking her shoulder to wake her up, "Amanda" I repeat and she opens her eyes, "Hey we're home"

"Oh hi, gosh I'm sorry I didn't realize how late it was." She tells me sitting up and I see Spencer holding Alexander smiling at him

"It's okay, how did everything go?" I ask her

"Everything was fine as always he was an angel"

"That's good, do you need a ride home?" I asked and she shook her head

"No I'm okay my bicycle is out front, beside I only live a block away."

"Okay, I don't feel comfortable with you riding your bike home this late but if you insist." I tell her and she smiles

"It'll be fine, I'll text you when I'm home if it helps"

I laugh and nod my head standing up, "Please do"

"Goodnight," She tells me and looks at Spencer, "Goodnight Mr. Reid"

"Good night Amanda" He tells her and she leaves, "You are such a mom" He tells me and I face him

"She's 23 years old, riding her bike home at midnight, I have every right to worry, that's how our cases start."

"I know, but she'll be fine," He says and I kiss him then look at our son who is passed out in Spencer's arms

"I'm exhausted, wanna go to bed?" I asked him and he nodded his head and we made our way to the bedroom for the night, after I got dressed and walked over to the bed my phone chimed

 _Made it home safe, have a goodnight :)_

I smiled and put my phone down on the nightstand and crawled in next to Spencer laying down on my back, "So...how exhausted are you?" HE asked me and I looked at him

"Why what did you have in mind Dr. Reid?" I asked him and he moved himself to hover above me

"I have a few ideas." He says and I pull him into a kiss

 **A/N: I know it was JJ who shot the unsub but I felt like Elizabeth needed a win you know? Also by the way I have reached over 8,000 views so in honor of that I'm going to do a little Q &A, you can PM me any questions you have and I'll answer them, I'm an open book.**

 **B. It's gonna be a couple of days before I update again, I haven't really watched season 11 all that well so I'm gonna re watch it then go from there on what episodes I'm gonna do.**


	41. Chapter 41

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Is it the same unsub?" Spencer asked when we both walked into the round room

"Yeah, two kills on two coasts in two days. This guy's on a mission. He's not gonna rest until he completes it." Morgan says

"Then neither will we." Aaron tells him

"But we're down two profilers." Garcia points out, it's true, Kate left and JJ was on maternity leave

"Our 6 brains against his one. My money's still on us." Rossi points out

"Let's get to work." Aaron tells us and we sit down with our files

* * *

"We know for a fact that victim number one was bound and gagged, but it doesn't look like number two was." Morgan pointed out

"Windows in both residences were tampered with, so he knows how to get in and out undetected." Spencer adds

"Ok, that's impressive because aluminum foil is super crinkly. I'm sorry, I'm not a profiler, I'm doing my best." Garcia says and I smile

"No, it's a fair point. He snuck up on a tweaker who probably hadn't slept in a couple of days. M.O. said this guy's good at hunting." Rossi tells her

"Cause of death?" Aaron asked

"Cardiac arrest, but Dr. Mertz in the crime lab can't pin down how." I tell him

"He might hide it under the face paint. What we're assuming is ritual could be a forensic countermeasure."

"What do we know about the face paint?" Rossi asks

"Traditional greasepaint used by clowns, but applied to resemble a pulcinella." Spencer replied

"Oh, I totally know what that is, but I'm gonna Google it in case someone else doesn't." Garcia says and I let out a light laugh

"Sorry. The clown archetype that we recognize today actually leads back to a 16th Century stage tradition called commedia Dell'arte, where actors wore masks to resemble their characters. The pulcinella was the trickster character, usually without a voice. He used a horn to make funny noises." Spencer explained to us

"Maybe the victims tricked him and he's remaking them in death how he saw them in life." Rossi points out

"So this is a vendetta by the unsub and not a compulsion." Aaron says and his phone started to vibrate

"It's gonna make this guy really hard to profile." Morgan tells him

"All right, Dave, keep working victimology. Morgan, stay on the M.O, Reid and Elizabeth dig deeper into the ritual. I'll be right back." He tells us as he stands up and leaves

* * *

"Well, this doesn't clear up much. Vic number one was a divorced dad who got custody of his kids." Rossi tells me and Spencer

"And number two was the local drug supplier." Spencer adds

"So if the question is, what connects these two guys, the answer is, nothing." I point out

"And we never would have made the connection if it weren't for the face paint. Which begs the question, why do it at all?" Spencer asks

"To taunt us, feel superior." Rossi answers

"It's obviously a message, and my assumption is that it has something to do with the mouth, 'cause look at this." He tells us picking up one of his books holding it so me and Rossi could look, "The colors of the pulcinella are oddly inverted. Traditionally the character has a black face but a white jaw. He's painting it the other way around."

"You said that this character was the precursor to today's clown because he couldn't speak, right?" I asked him

"Yeah, that's right."

"So, he was also the first mime, too." I point out walking over to the board

"Very much so. Which means...Oh. Oh!" He said realizing where I was going with it

* * *

"He has a feeding port in his stomach?" Garcia asked

"The nutritional supplement that Dr. Mertz found in both victims would be ideal for someone who couldn't eat normally. So if the unsub sustained an injury to the jaw, it would also suggest that he's unable to speak." Spencer tells us

"Hence the pulcinella mask. It's his way of communicating." Rossi mentioned

"Ok, so what is he trying to say?" Garcia asked us

"Well, let's work our way back to that based on what we know. We know this guy travels thousands of miles in two days. So, he probably doesn't sleep. He's able to sneak into a suburban house or a drug den undetected. He overwhelms his victims silently and then injects them. And then as they lay there dying over the course of an hour, he simply sits over them and leaves them a highly symbolic message, but it's a precise message. His victims are seizing up right in front of him, but this guy does not miss a brush stroke. This is a man who's been around death before. It doesn't faze him. Who else would leave this type of message?" Morgan asked

"Drug cartels. Cutting the tongues out of snitches and the hands off of thieves." Spencer says with realization

"The mafia, sleeping with the fishes and all that." Rossi adds

"He's a contract killer." Aaron points out

"Only a hit man would be this good, but his message- it's not for us. It's for his customers." Morgan said

* * *

"The unsub that we're looking for is a contract killer who is doubling back to kill his former customers. This man is highly skilled and well-trained. Under no circumstances should he be engaged without back-up." Morgan informed the agents that wanted to join the BAU

"So is this a case of organized crime tying up loose ends?" One of the ladies asked

"Organized crime's got nothing to do with this, at least not in the traditional sense." Rossi tells her

"In 2013, the Bureau took down the Silk Road network. Our initial assumption was that it was an encrypted online market for illegal drugs, which it was, but upon further inspection, we were stunned at the breadth of goods and services being traded online. Weapons, child porn, even hit men." Spencer explained to them

"And the payment scheme was escrow based, in which the buyer would put down half as a deposit and the other half when the seller delivered." Aaron adds

"We've now confirmed that all 3 victims hired the unsub over the past year through a similar escrow system." I mentioned

"So why is he killing his old clients?" The same lady asked

"Hit men don't leave a message unless you pay them to. The exception is to leave a warning for customers or competitors." Rossi answered

"This unsub suffered some sort of injury to his jaw or voice, most likely as a result of something these customers did. The pulcinella mask is his statement on revenge and justice- betray the oath between customer and contractor and you pay the price." Spencer explained

"Now, normally a man with this kind of defect would attract attention. The fact that he hasn't indicates that he has deep pockets and a network of resources at his disposal." Morgan adds

"Share this profile with your local divisions and with law enforcement. Search for escrow payments to match the unsub to his clients. One of those clients will be his next target. Thank you." Aaron finished

* * *

Agents, Captain Wilson, Baltimore SWAT." Wilson tells us shaking Morgan's hand

"How do you want to do this, Captain?" Rossi asked him

"We'll breach and clear. When it's locked down, the site is yours. Sound good?"

"Mm-hmm." Morgan answered

"All right." Wilson said and we pull out our guns making our way towards the building "Police!" Wilson yells as we enter the shop

"Don't shoot! Do not shoot!"

"Come out with your hands up." Wilson tells the man as we walk over to him

"That's gonna be real hard, real hard. Look!" Al tells us holding up his hands

"What's that you got in your hands?" Wilson asked and we looked

"Grenade!" Morgan yells and Spencer moved me behind him

"Drop it! Drop it!" Wilson tells him

"I can't drop it! I can't!"

"Put your weapons down! Put your weapons down." Spencer tells everyone moving over to the man, "You mean that literally, don't you? You can't drop it." He asked him

"Yeah!"

"What did he use? What did he use?!" Morgan asked

"Over there."

"It's dried and set and he glued over the pin. Do you have any acetone?" Spencer asked him

"It's not gonna work. It's not gonna work."

"Reid, he's right. This is industrial acrylic. It holds car parts together." Morgan tells him

"Bomb squad's 10 minutes out. I'm gonna take out my men and set up a perimeter. Maybe we can still box this guy in." Wilson tells me and Rossi

"We're staying." Rossi tells him

"All right, we're going block to block, gentlemen." Wilson says and leaves

"You gotta do something, ok?" Al says, me and Rossi walk over as they help him stand up

"We will, we will, but you need to stay still. Stay still." Morgan tells him and Spencer started looking around

"He-he pulled the pin. I'm holding down this clamp here, but my hand is cramping, so you-just do something, all right?!"

"Morgan, 4 cars." Spencer says

"What about them?" Morgan asked him

"Each car has a battery, right? Each battery has an electrolyte solution of 62% water, 38% sulfuric acid."

"But, Reid, that's not gonna work." Morgan points out to him

"Why not?" I asked him

"Because the acrylic will still stay bonded to the metal."

"Absolutely true, but it will also create a saponification effect on his flesh. The grenade will literally slide out of his hand like a wet bar of soap. Of course there will be an intense burning sensation on the skin, and the smell will be horrendous." Spencer explained

"You can't-you're not burning my hands! You're not gonna do it!"

"Hey, listen, pal. Stay still! You got yourself into this mess, so unless you got a better idea, just shut up." Rossi says to Al

* * *

"Someone's gotta hold the grenade while this thing is-right?" Al asked us, me and Morgan stood by his sides holding his arms, Rossi knelt in front of him and Spencer was holding a dropper bottle moving next to Rossi

"That's my job." Rossi tells him putting his hands under Al's

"This is gonna hurt, but you'll survive. Is everybody ready?" Spencer asked us

"Yeah. Just watch your aim, kid. All right, my hand's on the lever." Rossi says

"All right, I need you to help us pull." Morgan tells him as we grip his arms wearing protective gloves.

"Yeah." He replies and Spencer starts dripping the stuff onto Al's hands who starts screaming then me and Morgan pull on his arms and the grenade slips out and Rossi grabs it

"I've got it."

"We safe, Rossi?" Morgan asked him holding a rag to Al's hands

"Yeah, we're good. The lever's st- Run!" Rossi yells and Spencer grabs my hand pulling me out the door and we all duck behind a police car just as the grenade explodes in the building

"You guys ok? Anyone hurt?" Spencer asked helping me up and I nodded my head, "You ok?" He asked Al who started coughing then goes to the back of the car and throws up

"Yeah, he's fine." Rossi says and Spencer pulled me into a hug kissing my head

* * *

"Ok, so, a week ago, this guys stumbles into the Atlantic City E.R., having been shot in the jaw. Can't give them his name 'cause of the whole shot in the mouth thing. But his fingerprints lit up the Rome police database like a Christmas tree." Garcia tells us putting a picture up on the board

"Italian, that explains the pulcinella influence." Rossi points out

"Yeah. They were able to get a name- Giuseppe Montolo, but by the time Jersey P.D. got there, Montolo had been patched up and made his escape." Garcia adds

"And now he's on some type of payback gig. He has no idea who double-crossed him, so now he's killing every customer that he suspects might have done it." Morgan mentions

"I tried to use Al's username and password to flush out other clients, but they don't call it the Darknet for nothing." Garcia explains

"Then we let it go. We're not going to catch him that way." Rossi tells her

"What other way is there?"

"Montolo changed his M.O. drastically with the last victim." Aaron says

"He went from up close and personal to collateral damage." Spencer adds

"Al blows himself up or we kill him. Either way it's a win-win." I point out

"If he made that dramatic a shift, it was a mistake. That's how we catch him." Aaron tells us

* * *

"All right, then let's do this old school. Morgan, you took Al's confession. Walk us through it like you're the unsub." Rossi tells him

"I got my victim on the ground, and I have the syringe in my hand. I have total control over him. This is my moment. I'm gonna make him pay for what he did. But Al said he got a text. I don't like what I see. Now I have to change my plan. What was on that text?"

"Someone tipped him off. He wouldn't deviate that much otherwise." Aaron points out

"But that would mean that-" Garcia started to say but Aaron cut her off

"We have a mole."

"There's a lot of new faces around here want to join the BAU." Rossi mentions

"I don't think it's a federal agent. I think it's someone in local law enforcement." Spencer tells us

"Based on what?" I asked him

"The clock. According to Al, the unsub left 5 minutes before we showed up. That's a narrow window. Too narrow for him to wait around for an embolism, but he had to figure out a way to deal with his last victim. Montolo changed his M.O. at the last moment because he learned about us at the last moment."

"So the last on to hear the cavalry was coming in the Judas. That means a local cop." Rossi pointed out

"Or SWAT. You said Wilson pulled his men off the scene?" Aaron asked him

"He said he wanted to box the unsub in. But maybe he really wanted to ensure he got out."

"We profiled that the unsub would have support and resources. An ally in SWAT would give him both." Spencer says

"We go after a captain, we need more than a profile, we need proof." Morgan tells us

"The security perimeter they set up, they would have recorded every license plate- Garcia." Aaron tells her

"Yes, sir." She says and walks over to her laptop, "Ok. Cross-referencing last name Wilson. Uh, ok. I got a Ford Taurus. It is registered to Betty Wilson, wife of Captain Phil Wilson."

"Quite a plan these 3 have" Rossi says

"He waved his own wife through the checkpoint. And she secured the hit man's escape." I added

"Montolo has them both working under duress. Wilson has to be a customer." Morgan mentions

"Which means he's also a target." Aaron said

* * *

We pull up to an abandoned alleyway making our way over to the fence waiting for Montolo and Wilson, "It's a perfect place for a hit." Morgan tells us, we continue to wait when we see a car pull in and we duck down, "Hotch, he's just landed" Morgan says over his radio

 _"Morgan do you have a shot?"_ Aaron asked over the radio

"Do you have a visual?" Morgan asked a SWAT member who shook his head, "Hotch, that's a negative Wilson's in the way" After a bit shots are fired in Wilson's car and Montolo gets out firing back at Wilson, "Go, go go" Morgan tells us and we get up rushing over with our guns drawn, Morgan goes after him as he runs away and me and Spencer move over to the car seeing Wilson hold the gun to his neck

"Drop the gun captain." Spencer tells him as we aim our guns at him

"No, It was all me. Betty had nothing to do with this."

"We already know it was both of you, Phil. But you did what you did out of love. And Betty's only hope for leniency is if you testify on her behalf. All right?" I tell him as me and Spencer lower our guns, "So don't abandon her. Not when she needs you the most." I say and he looks at me then at Spencer then lowers his gun handing it to me and Spencer helped him out and cuffed him then a cop took Wilson away, Spencer pulls out his phone as an ambulance arrives and I see Morgan bringing Montolo over to it

"We got both of them. Alive." Spencer tells Garcia over the phone then hangs up, "Hey" He says to me pulling me to him, "Let's go home"

I smiled and kissed him, "Music to my ears" I tell him and we left

* * *

"Have a good night Amanda" I say to her closing the door after she left then walked into the living room seeing Spencer on the couch playing with our now 1 year old son, I sat down next him and Alexander hands me his teddy bear and I put it towards his face making kissing noises and he giggles. I look at Spencer who smiles at me then back at our son. No matter how stressful our days are or however long we are gone, seeing the smile on our child's face when we come home makes everything so much better.

 **A/N: Please don't shun me for taking forever I'm sorry, I've been busy with work and being a mom. I promise I'll try to update more. I hope you like this chapter and please let me know if it's getting boring or how you would like me to make it more exciting I welcome your opinions. Also I see no one has asked me any questions, that's fine you don't have to, just thought maybe you would like to get to know the author more. Anywhoddleberries, see you on the next update. Again if you would like me to do anything please let me know.**


	42. Chapter 42

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **A/N: Okay so this idea popped into my head last night and I felt like writing this, it's going to be my own episode that I'm going to try really hard to write as well as I can.**

 _"You're gonna be okay, just hold on, please just hold on. No no no keep your eyes open. Get a medic in here!"_

 _ **2 Days Earlier**_

"Yesterday the body of 23 year old Erica Wallis was found strangled in an ally in the D.C area and two days before that the body of 25 year old Tabitha Johnson was also found strangled in an alley 4 blocks away from where Erica was found." Garcia told us as we looked at our tablets

"Any sign of sexual assault?" I asked her

"Thankfully no but the M.E did say there was a lot a bruising on both vics, mainly in the stomach area"

"What's the connection between these two women?" Tara asked

"Well other then both being brunettes and young, both women were reported missing by family and friends after they left their jobs as babysitters" Garcia tells her and I look up

"They could be surrogates for the real target of his obsession, maybe something happened to him as a child involving a babysitter." Rossi mentioned

"Or maybe he sees them as someone who rejected him." Aaron points out

"2 bodies in 2 days this guy is sure cocky about not being caught" Morgan adds

"It also means that we have a limited window until there's another body. Let's go" Aaron tells us and we stand up to leave.

"Hey have you checked on Amanda today?" I asked Spencer stopping him

"I talked to her a couple of hours ago, she was taking Alexander to the park. Why?" He asked me

"I just..." I started to say and looked at the screen

"Hey," He says and I look at him, "She'll be fine, their probably at her house by now and her grandparents are home."

"Yeah, you're probably right but I'm gonna call her just to check."

"Okay, I'll meet you at the elevators" He says then kissed my head and walked out, I pulled out my phone and dialed Amanda's number

 _Hi, this is Amanda, sorry I missed your call please leave me a message_

"Hey Amanda it's Elizabeth, I'm just calling to make sure everything is okay. Give me a call back when you get this" I hang up and sigh, "You're just being paranoid Elizabeth" I tell myself and meet the others.

* * *

As we headed to the dumpsite I kept checking my phone, Amanda always called me back after she missed my call.

"Stop it." Spencer tells me and I look at him, "She's probably busy, Alexander's 1 now so he requires more of her attention."

I nod my head and looked out the window as we arrive at the scene, me, Spencer, and Aaron get out of the car and walk over.

"So a homeless person found the body here leaning up against the dumpster and flagged down a cop." Aaron tells us as we look around

"Well he certainly had no problem with them being found otherwise he would have dumped them in the woods or something." I mention squatting down to get a better look around the dumpster

"Maybe he feels remorse, according to the M.E both victims were found with their hair brushed and their bodies were clean of any dirt." Spencer says

"Who reported them missing?" I asked

"Erica's parents called the police yesterday morning when they discovered she wasn't home and her phone went to voicemail, Tabitha's roommate called as well the night before Tabitha was found, same thing phone went to voicemail right away." Aaron tells me

"Did Garcia trace their phones?" Spencer asked him

"Erica's and Tabitha's phones pinged a block away from where they were taken"

"Maybe when the unsub took them their phone's fell out of their pockets or something and he didn't care." I said and my phone rang, I looked and saw it was Amanda's Grandma, I walked away from Aaron and Spencer then answered it, "Hi Mrs. James is everything ok?" I asked her

 _"Um...I'm not sure, have you talked to Amanda today?"_ She asked me and my heart stopped

"Spencer talked to her earlier and she told him her and Alexander were going to the park, I...got her voicemail when I called 20 minutes ago." I told her and thought about it

 _"She left Alexander here and told us she was going to head to the store to get him something for lunch, we haven't been able to go grocery shopping, but she left over an hour ago and it's not that far from here."_ She tells me

"Is Alexander okay?" I asked her

 _"Yes, he's fine, he's just napping right now."_

"Okay umm we'll be there in 20 minutes" I tell her and hung up rushing back over to Spencer and Aaron, "Amanda's missing."

"What?" Spencer asked, him and Aaron turned to face me, "Where's Alexander?"

"He's with her grandparents, they didn't have any food for him so Amanda went to the grocery store to get something and that was over an hour ago and her phone is going to voicemail."

"Let's go." Aaron tells us and we left

* * *

"Mrs. James did Amanda leave on her bike or in a car?" Aaron asked her as we stood in the living room, Spencer was checking on our son in the other room

"I made her take the car, it would have been difficult for her to ride that thing with bags"

"Did she call you letting you know she was heading back?" I asked her

"No, that's when I called her and got her voicemail." She said putting her head in her hands and her husband rubbed her back then my phone rang

"Garcia tell me you got something" I said answering the phone

 _"The last ping I got from Amanda's phone is at the Global Foods Warehouse from around 9:30AM"_

"That's around the time I called her, do you have any footage from the store?" I asked

 _"She parked out of view of the cameras but I have her entering the store then 10 minutes later she exited heading back in the direction of her car, 5 minutes after that her phone's signal drops,"_

"Okay, Morgan, Tara and Rossi are there now to get answers thank you." I tell her hanging up and Spencer walked back in

"Who would have taken her?" Mrs. James asked me and I looked at Aaron who nodded his head, I sat down in front of her on the coffee table.

"Mrs. James, we believe this is connected to a case we got today, there have been 2 girls so far who have gone missing and...2 days later are found dead."

"Oh god!" She cries and her husband pulls her to him, "Not my sweet girl"

I put my hand on her shoulder and she looks at me with tear filled eyes, "That's not going to happen to her, I promise you I will do everything I can to bring her home safe." I tell her and she grabs my hand

* * *

"What have we got?" I asked the others as me, Spencer and Aaron walk back into the round room

"Amanda's car was still at the store and from the looks of things the unsub snuck up on her from behind, the bags she was carrying were on the ground next to her car." Tara tells me

"Attacking in day light is risky, especially in a public place." Spencer says

"Yeah but Garcia said her car was parked out of view of the camera, where was her car when you got there?" I asked

"Pretty far away from the store but the manager said they were really busy around that time so she probably had no choice but to go there." Morgan tells me

"Okay so all we have is a ping from her phone from around 9:30AM, no camera footage, and no witnesses, basically we have nothing" I point out with frustration and Spencer put his hand on my shoulder but I walked away over to the railing leaning on it

"Liz..."

I turn and see Spencer standing there, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to snap I just..." I started to say but he pulled me into a hug

"It's okay, I'm worried too" He tells me and I feel tears sting my eyes

"There has to be something," I tell him and pulled away, "I know I'm having trouble focusing but there has to be something, some clue that will lead us to her."

"Hey, if I know you and I think after all these years I do, it's that you're mind is the sharpest when you are worried. We will find her okay?" He says

"Is this how you felt? When I got taken and you had no clues to find me?"

"It was worse, I felt like my world was falling apart, that if I couldn't find you...alive then I don't know how I would have been able to go on, it would kill me if I ever lost you." He tells me and I put my hand on his face

"I'm never going anywhere, I promise."

"Guys," Tara calls to us and we look at her, "Garcia found something." She tells us and we walk into the room

"Okay so I was able to locate another camera from an ATM across the street and it shows Amanda walking over to her car." She says and we watch the footage, I started to bite on my nail as I saw Amanda standing by the drivers door looking through her purse, probably to find her keys, when someone with a hood over their head walks up behind her, "From what I gathered in the video it looks like he drugged her and put her in his car which...I was able to get the plate."

"Who is it registered to?" I asked

"Umm that would be...Mark Jacobson he's local, home address sent to your phones"

"Let's go" Aaron says

* * *

"Mark Jacobson FBI!" I yelled at the door and there was no answer, I looked at Morgan and he kicked the door open, we walked in with our guns raised looking around

"Clear!" Tara yells from another room

"Clear!" I hear Morgan yell from a different one

"No one's here" Spencer tells me walking over as I looked at a wall behind a desk, it was filled with pictures of the first two vics and some of Amanda, there was a few others of another woman but they were older pictures.

"He stalked them" I said and I feel sick to my stomach when I see one of the photos of Amanda was her and Alexander at the park she takes him to.

* * *

 _"Okay, according to my records, Mark Jacobson is from D.C. parents are Todd and Marlene Jacobson, at the age of 10 Mark witnessed his 24 year old baby sitter get beat up by her boyfriend one night when she was watching him. According to the police report 24 year old Jamie Thompson had just put Mark to bed then invited her boyfriend over, Mark heard yelling and watched from the top of stairs as she was assaulted then the boyfriend left."_ Garcia informed everyone who was back at the BAU, I was on my way to Amanda's grandparents

 _"That doesn't make sense, it sounds like he should be punishing men that represent the boyfriend not the babysitter"_ Morgan points out

 _"Ah but the babysitter told him not to say anything then the next time she babysat him the boyfriend came over again, this time he was drunk and strangled her after a heated argument, Mark then called the police."_ Garcia tells her

 _"Sounds like he's trying to recreate that night to understand what happened and what went through the boyfriend head as it happened."_ Tara says

 _"So how does that explain why the first two vics were cleaned up with brushed hair?"_ Rossi asked

 _"According to the report the babysitter just got done taking a shower when the boyfriend showed up"_ Garcia mentions

"Okay but how does this help us find Amanda? The house was a dead end and Mark is unemployed." I tell them

 _"I did find a connection between the first two vics phones and Amanda's"_ Garcia tells me

"What's that?"

 _"They all pinged around the same area, Amanda's pinged at the store, Erica's pinged a block away from a bar that's a block from the store and Tabitha's pinged at the bus stop between those two places."_ Garcia says

 _"Garcia can you pull up that map?"_ I hear Spencer ask then there was a pause, _"Guys there's a few abandoned buildings by those places."_ He says and I think to myself

"Wait, the two vics were found within a block of each other in alleys by the store where Amanda was taken, Garcia is there any abandoned buildings next to there?" I asked her

 _"Um...yes an old factory is right smack dab in the zone."_

"What's the address?" I asked

 _"Church St. North West."_

"I'm close text me the address." I tell her

 _"Elizabeth wait until we get there"_ Aaron tells me

"Aaron this is the only chance I have of saving her." I argued

 _"Liz please wait for us."_ I hear Spencer say but I ignored him

"Garcia address." I tell her and my phone beeps then I hang up

* * *

I pulled up to the factory, got out with my gun ready, I made my way into the factory and heard music playing, I checked around corners until I saw a light coming from a room down the hall, I slowly walked down the hall, I peaked into the room and saw Amanda tied to a chair with her mouth gagged, Mark had his back facing the door and I saw Amanda look at me, I put my finger to my mouth telling her to be quiet. I ducked back behind the door as Mark turned around. When I did I noticed there was a door behind her so I made my way around.

"Do you know why I do this?" I hear Mark ask Amanda as I reached the other door, "I do this because I want to understand, I want to understand what it felt like for her to die, what he felt when he killed her." He says and walks to the other side of the room and turned his back to her, I slowly made my way in and went over to Amanda and started to undo her hands. Just then he grabs me from behind and I drop my gun struggling against him, "Well what do we have here?" He asks and I see the tears stream down Amanda's face, before I knew it or could react I felt a sharp pain in my side where my vest didn't cover and he drops me to the floor as I hear Amanda's muffled screams, I put my hand to my side and see blood on it from the knife wound, I tried to move to my gun while keeping pressure on my side, but he grabbed my hair throwing me back, my head hits the table that was behind me and I see him pick up my gun and he shoots me in the shoulder.

"AH!" I screamed as he walked over to me

"You didn't think it would be that easy did you?" He asked me then raised my gun again but before he could fire I hear a gunshot and he falls to the ground

"Liz!" I hear Spencer yell and he runs over to me

"I'm sorry" I strained to say and he puts his hands on my side and my shoulder

"Shh...it's okay, you're gonna be okay, just hold on, please just hold on." He tells me and I start to close my eyes, "No no no keep your eyes open." He says and I slowly open them, "Get a medic in here!" He yells

"A..Amanda?" I asked

"She's fine we got her" He tells me and I look over at her, she's crying in Tara's arms looking at me, "Medic!" Spencer yells again and I feel Aaron next to me holding my hand

"Hang on sis, hang on" Aaron says and I close my eyes again, I couldn't fight it anymore I was losing to much blood

"No, Liz come on baby stay with me." I hear Spencer tell me but I black out

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I paced back and forth in the waiting room with Hotch while Liz was in surgery, why did she do it? Why did she go alone? I asked myself and the others walked in

"How is she?" Tara asked after hugging me

"Still in surgery." Hotch answered and Morgan puts his hand on my shoulder

"She'll be okay kid" He tells me but I ignored him and walked over to the window, she has to be I can't go on without her, Alexander needs her, I need her.

A few hours went by when finally the doctor came out, "Elizabeth Reid?" She asked us and I stood up

"How is she?" I asked

"She lost a lot of blood and we lost her a couple of times but she's stable now..." the doctor tells us but paused

"What? What is it?" I asked him

"Since she lost so much blood and we had to bring her back twice it put a lot of strain on her body, she slipped into a coma once we got her stable." She tells us and my heart stopped

"Will she wake up?" Hotch asked from next to me

"That's up to her, but Mr. Reid you can see her now if you want" He tells me and I nod my head then follow him

Once I walked into the room I saw the woman I love laying in the bed with monitors going, I pulled a chair up next to her bed and grabbed her hand kissing it, "Hey beautiful"

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Hey beautiful" Spencer tells me as I stood there watching him, my heart was breaking into pieces

"Hi handsome" I replied even though he couldn't here me, he put his head down resting it on the bed next to my hand and started to cry, "Don't cry, I'm okay, I'm right here sweetie." I tell him kneeling down next to him, "Spence"

"You fight for me, fight for our son, he needs you...I need you." He says and a tear ran down my face

"I will, we promised"

 _ **The next day**_

I stood there watching everyone come see me, Spencer and Aaron spent the most of the time with me, I was trying so hard to go back, why can't I go back?

"Spencer you need to go home, eat, shower, change." Tara tells him

"No, I need to be here when she wakes up." He argued

"Spencer, you need to take care of yourself too." She tells him and he sniffles, "If anything happens I'll call you I promise." She tells him and he sighed

"Please..."

"I will" She says knowing what he was going to say, he stood up and kissed my head then walk out, Tara sat down in the chair, "I know you would tell me this is weird but the doctors said talking to you might help so here it goes. What were you thinking Elizabeth?" She asked and I could sense the anger in her voice, "I know I'm new here and don't understand how you guys work yet but you have made me feel welcome since day one," She says and sighs, "Spencer can't lose you, I don't think his heart can take it and I don't know what I would do if I lost you." She tells me and I swallowed the lump in my throat.

Later on Morgan came in, he pretty much said the same thing JJ said and thanked me for making Spencer happy. Rossi came in as well and reminisced about the time me and him searched for the birthday present I got Aaron last year when we ended up in the wrong town, the guy can't read a freakin' map. When Garcia came in that broke me, she was filled with guilt for sending me the address, it wasn't her fault, it was mine.

"Hey sis" I hear Aaron say and I kneeled down next to him, "Jack says hi and hopes you get better." He tells me and tears flooded my eyes, "He drew you this." He holds up a picture, "It's you and him at the park, he gave you a cape because..." He paused and put it down, "Because you're his other super hero." He says and puts his head in his hand, "Come on, I can't lose you too, I lost Haley, don't put me through this again." He said

"I'm trying big brother" I tell him

* * *

I had to leave the room, I walked through the hospital but for some reason it looked different, no one was around, I looked back into my room, Aaron wasn't there anymore just me, suddenly it changed and I was standing in a house.

"What the..." I started to say and I felt a hand on my shoulder, when I turned around I just about fell over.

"Hey Elizabeth"

"Haley?" I asked

* * *

"What? How?" I asked and she smiled

"You didn't think I wouldn't stop by to say hi?" She asked and I hugged her letting tears fall

"I miss you" I tell her

"I miss you too"

"But why are you here?" I asked pulling away

"Think of me as a guide through your life, to look at everything from when you were a kid to now, and find out the reason why you blame yourself for my death after all these years."

"But I...wait a minute" I tell her and look around, "I know this house. Why am I here?" She shrugged her shoulders when someone walked into the room, "Dad?"

"Where are the kids I want to eat." He asked my mom as she finished setting the table

"Elizabeth is helping Sean wash up, they should be down any minute"

"Elizabeth Marie Hotchner you and your brother better get down here now! Don't make me come get you!" He yelled and I see my brother come down the stairs then sit down at the table then the younger me follows shortly after and my dad grabs my arn hard, I remember this day, "What took you so long?"

"I'm sorry dad, it won't happen again." I tell him and he pulls me closer

"It better not, you know the consequences for making me wait after a long day" He tells me releasing the painful grip on my arm and I sit down, my mom dishes my dad up first then us and sits down.

"How was your day daddy?" Sean asked him

"How do you think it was? I work with a bunch of idiots who can't do their jobs right then come home to a house full of brats who ask stupid questions"

"I'm sure Sean was just trying to be nice weren't you sweetie?" my mom asked him and he shyly nods his head as my dad grumbles

"Well he can keep the questions to himself" My dad says and I roll my eyes, "Have you spoke to Aaron today?" He asked my mom

"For a bit, he seems to be doing fine at school"

"Just fine? That little shit better be doing more then fine for how I'm paying him to go to that school." He says

"You didn't have to send him there" I mumbled under my breath and my dad slams his fork down

"What did you say?" He asked me and I glanced at my mom who shook her head

"N-nothing."

"No, you mumbled something what was it?" He demanded grabbing my arm again this time harder then before

"I-I said you didn't have to send him there."

"And what would you rather have me do? Huh? Have that little asshole around here disrespecting my rules?!" He asks with anger and I see Sean flinch

"No I just...I.."

"You what? You want that bastard back is that it? So him and you bastard brother can wreak everything I work for here?" He asked and I got fed up yanking my arm away from him

"He's not a bastard and neither is Sean, you're a bastard and yes I want my brother here so he can protect us from you!" I tell him and he gets up smacking me across the face

"What did you just say to me you little bitch?!"

"Kyle leave her alone she didn't mean it" My mom defended

"Shut up woman!" He yells at her and faces me again as I hold my cheek, "I think it's time you learned some respect." He tells me and grabs my arm yanking me out of the chair, I hear Sean crying from his chair, "Shut up boy!" He yells at him and I yanked my arm free pushing him with every bit of strength I have and he falls against the counter

"Don't you dare yell at him! He's just a kid and I'm sick of you treating us like we're shit!" I yell at him and he puts his finger up to say something but puts it to his chest and hunches over

"Kyle?" My mom asked going over to him, "Kyle!" She yells but he falls down holding his chest, I went over to Sean and told him to go upstairs, "Elizabeth call 911" She tells me but I stood there watching my father lay on the ground struggling to breath, "Now Elizabeth!" My mom said again and I go over to the phone and dialed it

After that the scene switched to us standing in the cemetery in front of a freshly covered hole, I had Sean next to me with my arm around his shoulder, our mom was in front of us sniffling, I still can't understand why she grieved over that monster. I feel a hand on my shoulder, I turned and saw Aaron standing there, me and Sean hugged him, not because we were sad, well Sean partly was because he was only 12 and didn't understand but I hugged my big brother because I missed him

The scene shifts again and I'm watching me and Aaron standing outside my dorm room after he came to visit me for the weekend, "So tell me about this Jordan guy" He tells me and I chuckled

"It's nothing, we...um hung out a few times but it's nothing"

"It didn't seem like nothing, Haley doesn't think so either." He says and I pushed him

"Honestly it's nothing, speaking of Haley when are you gonna be man enough to ask her to marry you?" I asked him and he smiled

"I..um I actually did already, she said yes."

I smack him on the shoulder, "And you're telling me this now?"

"Why do you think I came to visit?"

"Here I thought it was because you missed me" I joked

"Well that too, but I figured I would tell you in person." He says and I hugged him

"Congrats big brother"

Me and Haley appear in a hospital room and I see me, Aaron, Jessica, and Haley there while Aaron was holding a newborn Jack in his arms

"Remember this day?" Haley asked me

"Of course, I'll never forget the day my nephew was born" I tell her and the scene switched to a cemetary, and when I saw what was in front of me I looked at Haley then back at the sight in front of me, it was Haley's funeral, "Why are we here?" I asked her

"Because you need to talk about it."

"I do talk about it" I tell her facing her

"Not as much as you should, you still blame yourself just like Aaron does."

"How can I not blame myself? If I had just...if I had just focused more on stopping Foyet in the first place you would still be here." I tell her and she puts her hand on my shoulder

"Stop it, no one could have known what was going to happen, you did everything you could, what happened, happened, you can't change that."

I sniffled fighting tears, "But...it's hurts to think about it, I miss you so much Haley and all I think about is how I'm trying so hard to be there for Jack, he lost you when he was younger and didn't understand but I'm not you, I'm there for him when I can be but I have a family now too. I feel like a failure"

"You are not a failure, yes you have a son now, and you have Spencer, but no matter what you are always there for Jack, he knows that and loves you for it." She tells me and I wipe a tear away as the scene shifts back to the hospital and I see Aaron and Spencer in my room, Spencer was by my bed holding my hand with his head resting next to it and Aaron was on a couch that was in the room with his head down sleeping.

"How do I get back?" I asked her

"You have to want it, not in your head but in your heart."

I turned and faced her, "How could I not want to go back? I have Alexander, Spencer, Aaron, Jack, my team who all need me."

"But you still blame yourself for everything, none of it was your fault." She tells me

"But I-"

"Stop," She says putting her hand on my shoulder, "None of it is your fault. If it wasn't Foyet who would have killed me it would have been some other psychopath. Do not blame yourself for what happened. Your fathers death wasn't your fault either."

"I-I don't..."

"Yes you do, as much as you hated him you still carry that guilt" She points out

"If I had listened and dialed sooner he would have lived, but because I didn't..."

"Then he would have gone back to hurting you, Sean and Aaron again" She points out and I look at my brother

"After it happened he told me it wasn't my fault I was just protecting Sean, and I know he's right but I just...our mom never really blamed me either, it was the heart attack that killed him, it's not like I grabbed a gun and shot him."

"And what about me?" She asked and I look at her

"I should have stopped him..."

"Elizabeth..." She started to say

"No, I should have stopped him when I had the chance, then maybe you would still be here and Jack wouldn't hav..." I sighed fighting back tears, "But you're right too, it's not my fault, but it still doesn't change the fact that I think about you everyday and when I see Jack I see you, it hurts Haley, I miss you so much and I'm doing everything I can for them but I just..." She stopped me and pulled me into a hug

"I know, I know, and what you're doing is enough for them, Jack is so lucky to have you in his life." She tells me and I pull back and look at her, "You have such a big heart and you carry so much guilt but you don't need to. You have an amazing husband who would do anything for you, a beautiful son who thinks the world of you two, two brothers who may not have gotten along when they were younger but are working towards getting better so the 3 of you can have a better relationship, you have a team who have had your back since day one and love you like family and a sister in law who even though is dead loves you and misses you so much and is so thankful to you for taking care of her family for her." She finished while wiping away the tears that fell out of my eyes and I smiled

"Thank you"

She smiled and pulled me into a hug, "I love you, now it's time to go home" She said and I feel like something is pulling me, next thing I knew my eyes slowly opened and I heard the monitor beeping, I looked around before looking at Spencer who was still asleep holding my hand. I tried to lift my other one that he wasn't holding but pain shot through my side, he must have noticed because he stirred awake and looked at me.

"Hey" I croaked out and he got up hugging me gently then kissed my head, "I'm sorry" I said into his neck and he looked at me

"Shh...don't be sorry, I'm so glad you're okay, I don't know what would have happened if I lost you." He tells me and kisses me

"I told you I wasn't going anywhere, I'm always gonna be here, forever" I said and he kissed me pulling me into another hug.

 **A/N: I had to redo this chapter because I realized I brought JJ in but she doesn't return yet so I'm sorry I goofed. here's the new one**


	43. Chapter 43

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **A/N: Hello? Anyone there? I hope I didn't lose anyone**

"Okay so that should be everything." I tell JJ as I saw Alexander sitting on the floor with Henry and Michael. After what happened with Amanda she needed some time which I didn't blame her, I did tell her that if she didn't want to work for us anymore I understood, but for now JJ offered to watch Alexander while we were at work, "Thank you again for doing this I owe you one."

"It's not a big deal, the boys love having Alexander over." She tells me and I smiled at him then Spencer and Will walked into the room

"Ready to go?" Spencer asked me and I nodded my head, it's been 5 weeks since I was in the hospital, both Aaron and Spencer were against me returning but I was healed and moving around like I was before.

"Okay," I said bending down to Alexander, "Bye sweetie, be good for Auntie JJ and Uncle Will." I tell him kissing his head and we left.

* * *

"Let's get started." Aaron tells Garcia walking into the round room

"Ok. Savannah, Georgia, known for its charm and southern hospitality, though not so much for Brandy Green of Dover, Delaware, because 3 months ago, she came to town for a bachelor party, and after a night of bar hopping with her bridesmaids, ended up in a dumpster in a back alley."

"Cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head." Morgan points out

"What's that wrapped around her face?" Rossi asked her

"That would be sash she was wearing all night that says "bride-too-be" embroidered on it."

"The wrapping could be ritualistic, like a shroud of some sort." Spencer mentions

"Or a sign of the killer's remorse." Tara adds

"But this happened 3 months ago. Why are we getting this now?" I asked

"Because two days ago, the body of Ashley Wilcox of Dayton, Ohio, was also found in an alley dumpster in Savannah." Aaron says

"And she also had blunt force trauma, but she was strangled to death with her bride-to-be sash." Garcia says

"It's unlikely the work of the same jilted lover, since the two women lived in different states hundreds of miles apart." Rossi brings up

"They could be surrogates. Any sign of sexual assault?" Tara asked her

"None on Brandy. We don't know about Ashley yet."

"What's interesting is the unsub doesn't care about hiding the bodies very well." Spencer says

"Well, he'd have to be physically fit to lift the bodies into the dumpsters." Morgan mentions

"He could be sending a message that to him women are trash, disposable." Rossi states

"No, this is about marriage. He's taking these brides on the eve of what should be the happiest day of their lives. He wants to crush that. Their weddings have become their wakes." I said and looked at the screen

* * *

"Established in 1733, Savannah is the oldest city in Georgia and one of the south's most popular wedding destinations." Spencer informed us on the jet

"Brandy and Ashley are both low-risk lifestyle victims, but their behavior the nights they were murdered was anything but." Morgan brought up sitting next to me

"Bar hopping, being intoxicated in public, getting separated from their friends, all of that would have raised their risk levels, making them easy prey. But I am not victim blaming here. It's entirely understandable that both women would have wanted to enjoy themselves during their last nights as single women." Tara said and I nodded my head in agreement, I wanted nothing more then to marry Spencer but spending the last night I had as a non married woman was great

"And from the unsub's point of view, the bars are target rich environments." Aaron says

"But why pick only brides-to-be? Why not choose women a little less high-profile?" Rossi asked

"Wearing a bride-to-be sash must be like waving a red cape at a bull." Morgan points out, _wait for it_

"Actually, bulls are colorblind. So it doesn't really matter what color cape a matador waves, it's the cape's movement that elicits an aggressive charge response." Spencer mentioned and we all looked at him, I was trying to hold back a smile, "But Morgan's metaphor still applies here." He says and looked at me, I just shook my head and looked at the file

"This is probably a man who had his own engagement broken off, so living in Savannah, surrounded by weddings and happy brides, it must be driving him crazy." Tara said

 _"Sir, we just got a report that a third bride-to-be went missing. Madison Mills, 25, from Tampa, Florida, was celebrating at a bar with her bridesmaids last night, when she disappeared. She's supposed to get married next Sunday."_ Garcia tells us coming on the screen

"The first victim was 3 months ago, the second two days ago, and now Madison." I bring up

"He's accelerating." Aaron adds

"He may be a townie trolling bars to meet women." Rossi mentions

"What if he interacted with them and they turned down his advances?" Tara asked

"He could have felt emasculated, thus triggering his rage." Spencer replied

 _"I'll see if there's any connection between the brides-to-be."_ Garcia tells us

"And, Garcia, look for men living in the area with violent criminal records." Morgan tells her

"Also any men who were recently engaged and any who've had the engagements broken off." Aaron adds

 _"Check for cold feet. Got it."_ She says and signed off

"So how do we know Madison didn't hook up with a guy at a bar? I mean, she could still be sleeping it off and just doesn't want to face her friends." I tell them

"We should check into that. In the meantime, Morgan, you and Lewis retrace the victim's last steps. Reid and Elizabeth, go to the M.E., and Dave and I will go to the P.D. and talk to the families." Aaron says to us

* * *

"Ashley Wilcox, cause of death, asphyxiation caused by strangulation. Her head was wrapped postmortem." The M.E told Spencer and I as she showed us the body

"Were you able to get anything out of the sash?" Spencer asked her

"Some trace DNA. We're running it through CODIS."

"The ligature marks show hesitation on the part of the killer." I point out looking at the vic's neck

"He pulled the sash tight across her neck and then released it several times before she died." The M.E told us

"It could be the unsub's way of torturing his victims, or he's reluctant to kill. This looks like it was caused by some sort of heavy object. I'm thinking a flashlight or a lead pipe, perhaps." Spencer tells her standing up

"That's what I was thinking."

"Any sign of sexual assault?" I asked her

"No. The first victim, Brandy Green, died instantly from the blow to her head, but the killer took more time with Ashley."

"The unsub could be impotent, and choking his victims is how he satiates his urges." Spencer says walking around and coming to stand by me

"The press-on nails on that hand are missing, probably ripped off in the struggle." The M.E tells us and we look at the hand

"The nails have been bitten off." Spencer says to her

"Maybe Ashley bit her nails before she was tortured? Nail-biting's an unsanitary habit, but pretty common."

"True, my wife still does it," He says and I look at him, "But it's still considered an impulse control disorder. It's often associated with other body focus repetitive behaviors such as skin picking, skin biting, and trichotillomania. But, in this case, I think there's more to it than that, because the nails haven't been bitten underneath the press-on nails. Are you testing the saliva?" He asked her

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking the unsub bit Ashley's nails." He replied and my stomach churned

"I've seen some freaky stuff in my day, but never this." The M.E says and I nodded my head

"Makes me consider not biting my nail anymore" I told her and she looks between me and Spencer and I nodded

"He most likely has some sort of mental disorder." Spencer adds

"I'll say." I said

* * *

"Baby girl, you there?" Morgan asked her over the phone as we make our way to another body that's been found

 _"Speak now or forever hold your peace."_

"Listen, Reid thinks that our unsub may have a mental illness. Run that against your list of local men with records. Domestic disputes, peeping, public intoxication." He tells her

"And check to see if any have been released from public or private mental health institutions within the area." Spencer adds

 _"Bingo, 5 names. Sending them now."_

"A man walking his dog found her." The Captain tells us as we move over to look at the body

"Why change dump sites now?" Tara asked

"The unsub could have figured a dumpster downtown was too risky." Spencer replied

"She's got a gash on the side of her head like the others. And look at this." She tells us moving a bit of hair away from the vic's forehead

"Is that lipstick?" The captain asked

"By wrapping and marking Madison's face, the unsub's taking away her beauty." Morgan tells him

"And by choosing the word "slut," the unsub's commenting on Madison's virtue. Virtue and beauty are traditionally celebrated attributes in women." Spencer adds

"That's especially true for a bride or a bride-to-be." I mentioned

"The unsub is female." Tara says

"How do you figure that?" The captain asked

"3 female victims, no sign of sexual assault, and the victims were all strangled, but not manually." Spencer explained

"And the word "slut" written here in lipstick, is linguistically a word choice typically made by females." Tara inputs

"Now it's time to deliver the profile." Morgan says

* * *

"We believe the unknown subject we're looking for is a white woman in her late 20s to early 30s." Aaron addresses the police department

"Because she was able to subdue, control, transport, and dispose of the 3 victims, she's most likely large and strong." Tara mentions

"But she comes across as non-threatening, allowing her to get close to her victims before attacking them." Spencer says

"We should be interviewing wedding vendors. They may have come in contact with this woman." Aaron tells them

"This list obviously includes caterers, florists, photographers, wedding planners, hotel managers, and bridal shop workers." I add

"Is she making a statement about the institution of marriage?" The captain asked us

"Because of her poor self-image, as evidenced by the demeaning language and the nail-biting, we believe she is angry with these brides-to-be because of some romantic frustration or disappointment in her own life. She's most likely lashing out over something or someone she feels she'll never have." I answered

"She attacks with a level of violence that demonstrates this is personal. She may be jealous of her victims for having something that she desperately wants for herself. Thank you." Aaron finished

* * *

"What can you tell us, Garcia?" Rossi asked her

 _"That the stress and pressure of planning the perfect wedding is enough to drive anyone bonkers."_

"Don't I know it" I said and Spencer nudged me as he smirked

"Garcia, you find any connection between the wedding vendors and the 3 victims?" Morgan asked her

 _"Oh, yeah. Brandy, Ashley, and Madison all went to the same 30 vendors, one of which does a horse-drawn pumpkin carriage. I mean, come on. I need that in my life."_ She tells us and I chuckled, _"Anyway, I talked to all the vendors and none of them remember a large, strong non-threatening woman who was recently dumped by her fiance so she had to cancel all of her plans. They said they'd definitely remember a customer like that."_

"What if the unsub didn't visit one of the vendors? What if she is one of the vendors?" Aaron asked us

"That's a more statistically probable way that the unsub could come in contact with all the victims." Spencer answered

"If she had a relationship that ended badly, dealing with happy brides every day could fuel her anger." Rossi adds

"Garcia, see if any of the vendors fit the profile and if any have been recently divorced." Aaron told her

 _"Asketh and you shall receiveth."_

"If she's attacking brides-to-be because she was in a bad relationship or one didn't go as she hoped, then she's most likely depressed." Morgan mentions

"Yeah, but in my experience, depressed women don't display this level of violence towards others." Tara says

"Even if the depression's so severe, it leads to psychosis?" Aaron asked

* * *

"Ok, let's add it up. We may have a wedding vendor who is in love with someone who doesn't love her back or who might be engaged. And she's probably severely depressed because of her physical and emotional state." Tara tells me and Spencer

"Assuming she's under a doctor's care, she might be off her meds." Spencer says and his phone rings, "Nail-biting can be a symptom of that." He points out and I shake my head, "What's up, Garcia?"

 _"I found several female vendors who went through a divorce, but none in the past 6 months."_

"Do any of them have a history of depression?" I asked her

 _"Nuh. Zilch. Sorry."_

"What about women whose family members or loved ones recently got engaged?" Tara asked

 _"Hey, here's something. There's a local woman, Nicole Seavers, who, according to social media, just got engaged last night. Here's her Instagram post."_ She tells us and we look at the photo, _"She owns a flower shop, Blossoms, and her new fiance happens to be a wedding photographer named Ryan Becker, working out of said shop."_

"She doesn't have the physicality to be the unsub." I point out

"But the unsub could be someone close to Nicole. Garcia, we need to look at people in Nicole's immediate circle of family and friends." He tells her

* * *

 _"You guys, you guys, Nicole Seavers inherited the flower shop from her mother, who died a year ago. Her older sister Dana Seavers also works there."_ Garcia tells us coming on the computer screen

"So the mom left the shop only to one daughter?" Rossi asked

"That must have hurt Dana." Tara says

"Is the father in the picture?" Aaron asked her

 _"No. He left when they were little. This is the part of the story that is disturbing and sad at the same time. So, you know how Nicole and Ryan got engaged last night? Well, 3 months ago, Dana set up a wedding registry."_

"She must have known in advance about her sister getting engaged. Maybe the boyfriend enlisted her help." Spencer mentions

 _"No, the wedding registry isn't for Nicole and Ryan, it's for Dana and Ryan, and according to Dana's credit cards, she's been buying stuff off the wedding registry and sending them to herself."_ Garcia told us

"Ok, so she must be suffering from psychosis, confusing what is real with her own little fantasy world." Morgan pointed out

"This isn't just psychosis. This is a psychotic delusion based on Ryan Becker." Spencer tells him

"And then when another woman threatens that delusion, she suffers a psychotic break." I added

"Dana's her sister Nicole got engaged to Ryan, which means Nicole is Dana's next victim." Rossi inputs

"Garcia, we need addresses for the floral shop and for both sisters." Aaron tells her

 _"Dana and Nicole both live above the flower shop. Sending now."_

"Thanks." He tells her and we leave

* * *

We get to the flower shop and head to the door with our guns raised, Aaron tries the handle but it's locked

"Morgan" He tells him and Morgan went over to it and pried it open, we enter the shop guns raised and looked around

"Clear!" Aaron shouted from another room

"Clear!" Spencer shouted as well from the room we entered

* * *

"Look at this place." Tara tells us as we stand in Dana's room

"Clutter or the constant presence of a messy room is often a sign of depression." Spencer says and I pick up a diary off the bed

"Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Becker. Mrs. Dana Becker, Dana and Ryan Becker. She created a checklist with her life together with Ryan. Farmhouse, a chocolate lab, and two kids named Megan and Jake." I tell them

"Look at this, bupropion. It's an antidepressant. This was dispensed 6 months ago, but the bottle's sill full. Trinessa. Metformin. Spironolactone" Spencer listed off the names of the medications

"That's an interesting combination of meds. Those are typically used to treat a hormone imbalance." Tara points out

"It sounds to me like Dana has polycystic ovaries syndrome. It can cause obesity, excess hair growth, acne, and depression." Spencer mentioned

"PCOS is fairly common in teen girls and young women." I said to him

"It sadly affects one in 10 women of reproductive age. The good news is it's treatable."

"Ok, but it's PCOSs. It didn't turn Dana into a killer." Tara says

"I'm not saying that. I'm just saying it might have contributed to her becoming depressed." Spencer tells her

* * *

"Anything upstairs to tell us where she might have taken Nicole?" Aaron asked us as we walked back into the shop

"Nothing. But if Nicole is engaged to Dana's true love, Dana could go over the edge. We don't have a lot of time." Morgan tells him

"African violets, Chinese hibiscus, roses, lilies, and orchids." Spencer points out and I look at him

"What are you thinking, kid?" Rossi asked him

"They're all fresh flowers, but in order for all these varieties to thrive in this climate, they'd need a controlled environment."

"They've got a greenhouse. Dave, you and Reid stay here in case they come back." Aaron tells them and Spencer grabbed my hand givingit a light squezze then I follow Tara, Morgan and Aaron

* * *

"With Nicole and Ryan getting married, Dana probably feels that everyone she's ever loved has abandoned her." Aaron tells us as we make our way to the greenhouse

"First her father and mother and now her sister and Ryan." Morgan adds

"I actually feel sorry for her. Nicole's got everything Dana's ever wanted for herself- love and affection from a man." Tara says

* * *

"Dana, put the knife down." Morgan tells her as we walk in with our guns raised

"Don't you see? She'll try to take him away from me."

"And Nicole now understands that that would be wrong. Don't you, Nicole?" I asked her

"Yes. Yes. I'm so sorry, Dana." Nicole tells her

"Lower your weapons, everyone." I tell the others and we lowered our guns

"But this is crazy. Dana tried-" Ryan started to say but Morgan cut him off

"No, no."

"Dana, you love Ryan. But you also love your sister." Aaron tells her

"We know you're sad, Dana, but hurting Nicole is not gonna make that go away." Tara adds

"You're right. It won't." Dana says and moves the knife to her throat

"Oh, my God, Dana, don't!" Nicole pleaded

"Ryan, tell her you love her, right now." I told him

"Dana, I-I love you. I-I do."

"I knew it. You came back for me." She tells him

"Yeah."

"Nicole. I know you would never stand in the way of your sister's happiness, would you?" I asked her

"No. Ryan, it's over between us. You love Dana and always have." Nicole tells him and it hits a sore spot with me

"Dana, you and Ryan can finally be together like you were meant to be." Aaron tells her

"Meant to be." She says and drops the knife then moves over to Ryan laying her head on his shoulder, Morgan moved over to Nicole and untied her hands as Aaron put his hand on Dana leading her out with Tara. I looked as Ryan ran over to Nicole and hugged her, Morgan stood next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, he knew somehow that this effected me a little because of what happened with Diane and how me and Spencer had to do the same thing to get in her head.

* * *

Spencer and I were sitting on the seat next to the others on the jet, Spencer was reading one of his books with his arm resting on my leg as I was reading my book.

"Here you go." I hear Morgan say and I look up seeing him hand her a cup that she grabbed

"Thank you." She tells him and I see her ring finger

"Wow, so that's where the sun went. Nice rock." Rossi tells her holding her hand

"Thank you." She tells him and looks at her ring

"Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise?" He asked her

"Uh, no. I love him. I really do. It's just, um... This job makes things..."

"Complicated?" Morgan asked her

"What's complicated?" Spencer asked finally joining the conversation

"Relationships." Rossi answered and looked back at her, "You're not the only one, Tara. So, Morgan, when are you and Savannah walking down the aisle?" Rossi asked him

"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. Baby steps. Baby steps. What are we doing?" Morgan asked with his hands raised

"When Derek Morgan says "I do," it'll be a national day of mourning for single women everywhere." Spencer says and I lightly smack his arm, he looks at me with a smile before holding my hand

"Just don't elope." Rossi warns him and I chuckled

"Wow. Sounds like there's a story there." Tara says

"Oh, there is." Aaron tells her

"I married the third ex Mrs. Rossi at a drive-in wedding chapel in Las Vegas. I had an Elvis impersonator perform the ceremony." Rossi informed her

"You're kidding." Tara said

"Wait for it." Aaron tells her

"I'm playing twenty-one. I've got a streak going, I can't lose even if I try. Krystall's the dealer. One thing leads to another... I should have known it wouldn't last. Krystall spelled her name with a "K" and two Ls. We sobered up the next morning, the divorce was just as quick. I will never make that mistake again. Rossi finishes

"What, get married, or have the King of Rock 'n' Roll as your justice of the peace?" Morgan asked him

"Both. Thank you very much." He says in an Elvis voice and we all laughed

* * *

After we picked up Alexander from JJ's we pulled into the driveway and I saw Amanda sitting on the steps, I got out and walked over to her as Spencer got Alexander out

"Amanda is everything okay?" I asked

"Um...yeah...I just wanted to come talk to you both, I called your co worker and she said you were on your way home."

"Do you want to come inside and talk?" I asked her and she nodded her head, after I unlocked the door Spencer carried our sleeping son to his room and I stood there with Amanda, "What's going on?"

"So the past 5 weeks have been..well scary, the nightmares are horrible and all I can see when I close my eyes is you getting stabbed and almost dying to save me." She says and I hug her

"Hey it's ok," I reassured her rubbing her back, "I would do it again in a heartbeat," I pulled back and looked at her, "You are apart of this family and we protect our family no matter what."

"That's why I wanted to come talk to you guys, I want to continue working for you, if you'll have me"

"Of course we would but...are you sure you're ready? I only ask because I know from experience how hard it can be to return to a normal life after something like that happens, I went to New York and stayed with my younger brother after I got kidnapped." I tell and she smiled

"I'm sure, I miss Alexander and I miss you guys...and I talked to my grandparents about this and they were reluctant but ended up being okay with it." She tells me and I smiled

"We would love to have you back." I say to her and hugged her again


	44. Chapter 44

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **A/N: Not to sound needy but did I lose everyone? I mean I know we all have lives but just making sure you are all still enjoying this.**

Me, Spencer, Garcia, Rossi, and I all stood at the break table waiting for JJ to arrive after her maternity leave, I mean yes I've spent some time with her before now but this was different, after a few moments JJ walks in and we all greet her.

"Hi!"

Yay!"

"Bellissimo!"

"Ohh! Welcome back! Welcome back." Spencer says hugging her lifting her up

"I missed you guys." JJ tells us and I hug her

"Oh, we missed you more." Garcia tells her

"Mwah! Mwah!" Her and Rossi said kissing each other on their cheeks, "Oh, wow-oh, my gosh, nice. Will's favorite brand. Thank you, Rossi." JJ tells him grabbing the box of cigars and Spencer motions towards the books he brought her, "And, Spence, wow."

"It's my original set. And I realize that most of this information is most likely on that "internet," but you can never teach old-fashioned research habits too soon." He tells her and I shook my head smiling as he wrapped an arm around me

"How's the little guy doing?" Rossi asked her

"Oh, he's good. He's sleeping through the night for now, at least. Oh, and, Spence, I showed him the picture of when you first visited and he started kicking his little legs and he smiled real big."

"Who wouldn't get excited seeing that Bella faccia?" Rossi says grabbing Spencer's face

"I think he wants to see you" JJ tells him

"You know, studies have shown that babies begin exhibiting cognizable nonverbal communication within days of birth, take Alexander for example, he knew right away who I was the moment he was born."

"That's because you talked to my belly almost every night" I tell him and he kissed my head

"And some things never change." JJ pointed out

"Yeah. And some things do, and because of that, we took the liberty of doing...this" Garcia tells her bringing her over to her desk, "It's all the pictures you sent while you were away."

"You guys, I love it. It's-it's perfect. Thank you, all of you. Almost all of you." JJ tells us looking at Aaron's office

"They're debriefing." Rossi told her

"Ok, and this is your Bureau approved bubbly." Garcia tells us handing out glasses

"Cheers." JJ says and we clink our glasses, "Ok, now tell me all about Tara Lewis."

"She is really excited to meet you. I think here exact words after reading your reports were, Is JJ as awesome as I think she is?" Spencer tells her as Morgan and Aaron walk over

"I like her already."

"Ok, you did not just have a baby." Morgan tells her and she turns around and they hug

"Hey, you. Ohh..."

"Hi. Welcome back. Seriously, talk to me. What is your secret? 'Cause you look good." Morgan says and I chuckled, it took me at least 2 weeks to get rid of my baby fat

"Well, yeah, see these guns? It's from lugging around two boys all day." JJ tells him

"Oh, baby weightlifting. I would buy that DVD." Garcia says and Rossi's phone rings

"Excuse me."

* * *

 _"4 cases in 9 years. How come this hasn't been on our radar?"_ Morgan asked oer the phone

"Because the disappearances were in different states with different M.O.s." Rossi tells him

 _"The first missing woman was Kathy Miller from NYU in 2006."_ Spencer mentions

 _"So what's the plan once we land on campus?"_ Morgan asked

"Track Bahni's movements. Campus police checked her room. She's not there. They taped it off for you." Aaron told him

 _"What about her cell phone?"_ Spencer asked

"It just pinged in her room overnight." Garcia told him

"Strange for millennial's to go anywhere without a phone." I point out

"No credit card activity. I confirmed with all ticket agencies she didn't take a boat, bus, blimp, or plane last night. Oh! Dean's office just sent us her file from Judy Temple College. It looks like..." Garcia started to say, "Oh, dear."

"Looks like what?" Rossi asked her

"She voluntarily withdrew."

* * *

"Ok, mapping the route from the not-so-awesome house party to Bahni's dorm." Garcia told us

"What are those icons there along the street?" Joy, Rossi's daughter asked him

"Security cameras."

"They line the perimeter of the campus." I added

"And to answer your next question, that is real good news for us because it means that we can pull the feed from last night... and presto." Garcia tells us and the footage is brought up on the screen

"Start at 1 am. and go forward." Aaron tells her

"Roger. Got her." She says and we see Bahni walking around the corner stumbling, "Looks like she's stumbling a little."

"Drunk, alone at night. She's a low-risk Vic a high-risk environment." JJ points out and I notice something

"Wait, wait. Right there. Stop. All right, back it up." I tell Garcia, "Can you enhance that?" I asked her and we see a man step out of an arch way of a building and followed Bahni

"Oh, my God." Joy says

"Garcia, what's the next camera they show up on?" Rossi asks her

"Uh... None of them."

"Joy, you were right to come to us. We'll open a case and coordinate with campus and Alexandria P.D." Aaron tells her

"I'll make sure this is their top priority." Rossi adds and I see the shock on her face

"Thank you. I'll be right back." She says and leaves the room

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"This is the last spot she was seen. The next camera is 100 feet down, which makes this the abduction zone." I tell JJ as we walk down the sidewalk

"Well, Alexandria police searched the buildings. Nothing there."

"Well, if she got in the car with him, they would have shown up on the camera down the street." I point out

"But shoving her in the trunk of a car out in the open like this, it's too risky."

"That leaves this." I say to her looking down an alley, we start to walk down and my phone chirps, I ignore it putting it back in my pocket

"Everything ok?" JJ asked me

"Actually, no. My mom's not doing so well. The doctors have had to change her medicine 3 times to try to stabilize the schizophrenia." I confess to her

"Spence, why didn't you say anything?" She asked

"I don't want to bother you." I tell her and she stops me

"Ok. That's never possible. Got it? How long has this been going on?"

"It's gotten really bad the past few weeks." I said

"Look, the minute we are done here, you need to go help her. She needs you, and take Elizabeth and Alexander with, I'm sure she hasn't seen him since he was a baby."

"I know. Right now so does Bahni. All right, let's think this through." I say as we exit the alley

"All right, if he took her out this way, it's a busier street. The traffic was lighter last night, but it's still a risk to abduct someone in plain sight." JJ brings up

"So he was able to control a drunk woman and it didn't look suspicious." I mention

"He probably just put his arm around her and walked off. She was too drunk to even realize she was in danger." JJ adds

"You know, if this was just about the assault, he could have done that back in the alley. I think this has gotta be some sort of long-term play." I tell her

"Then he's been watching Bahni, looking for the perfect opportunity."

"Well, he certainly found it last night. She's a straight "A" student who never drinks and rarely goes out." I point out, much like Amanda, Liz still blames herself for that

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Ok, so if he watched and waited to take Bahni, we should be looking for offenders with precursor crimes of stalking and peeping." Morgan tells us

"Greater Metro area creeps coming up." Garcia says and starts typing

"He's patient and organized. He'll have a plan for when she sobers up and becomes non compliant." Aaron mentioned

"He'll isolate her so it's easier to be dependent on him." Rossi adds

"She's the most important thing in the world to him right now." Morgan says

"We need to get him to see her as a person." I tell them

* * *

"Anyone see Joy?" Rossi asked us walking into the round room

"Not for a while. Why?" Garcia tells him

"She asked about Sam's rap sheet. At the time, I didn't think it through. But she is a journalist."

"And Sam's a lead." Morgan adds

"Pull him up, Garcia." Rossi tells her

"Ok, uh, Sam Burnett. No record. Just his address and his date of birth."

"He's about the same age as Joy." Aaron points out

"That's it. Where did he go to college?" Rossi asked

"He dropped out of NYU in 2006." Garcia tells us

"The same time Kathy Miller went missing." Spencer says

"Ok, but hold up. What are we saying? Burnett did not take Bahni." Morgan tells us

"But he could be an unsub. When he talked about Bahni's abduction, he wasn't concerned, he was jealous." JJ informed us

"We have two separate unsubs in a target rich environment." Aaron mentions

"And Joy's going to confront the one we know." Rossi adds, "Garcia, ping her phone."

"She's in the same alley that Bahni was last seen." She says and we see Joy's phone dot on the screen

"Now ping Sam's." Rossi tells her and Sam's phone pops up next to Joy's

* * *

"I'm looking at the vehicles from earlier and there's nothing extraordinary about them or their owners." Garcia tells us

"Any of them belong to Judy Temple students?" Aaron asked her

"Two, but we already know they went home for the weekend."

"Some of Sam Burnett's story is true. The unsub likely walked off with his arm around Bahni, and it's highly doubtful that he would have taken the chance to hurt her in public." Morgan points out

"Yeah, but then they just disappeared." Garcia adds

"Well, because he took her away, likely in a vehicle that fit in. Campus security should have a list of vehicles that are authorized to drive onto campus. Cross-check those against your list." Spencer tells her from behind me as I sit in on of the chairs

"Checking registrations. There's a car. It looks like it's in the neighborhood. It delivers Chinese food to campus."

"Does Bahni order from them?" I asked her

"All the flippin' time."

"Who's it registered to?" Spencer asked

"22-year-old Tom Larson. No criminal record."

"Check for juvenile offenses." I told her

"Oh. Bingo. Lots of misdemeanor peeping offenses in his teens. It doesn't look like it's a coincidence. And every time he got busted, he'd end up in the hospital with bruises and broken bones."

"Probably an abusive father. Was child services ever called?" Aaron asked her

"Looks like the mom explained it away, until she committed suicide years ago."

"You want to bet that she received the brunt of his abuse?" Morgan asked out loud

"Oh, no takers on that bet. Looks like the elder Larson had a heart attack last year according to medical records, and the son is the primary caregiver." Garcia tells us

"Caring for his own father who beat him, it was only a matter of time before he snapped." Spencer points out

"We don't have two monsters, we have 3." Morgan adds

"Garcia, send the address to Rossi and JJ." Aaron tells her and they left

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"You were that little once." JJ tells me as I hold a picture of Michael

"It seems impossible, doesn't it, that we all start out so helpless." I reply putting the picture back down

"And we all end the same way." She says

"Yeah."

"Are you gonna call your mom?" She asked me

"It's not too late there, is it?" I asked looking at my watch

"Tell her I said hi." She tells me and starts to walk away

"I will." I said then grabbed out my phone, "Hey, Mom. I'm good. How are you feeling? What do you think about me, Elizabeth and Alexander coming out to visit for a little while?"

 **A/N: I know I know it's short I'm sorry I literally lost my muse.**


	45. Chapter 45

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **Spencer POV...**

"Hi. Table for two for Spencer." I tell the hostess walking into the restaurant and she leads me to my table.

"Here you are."

"Thank you so much." I tell her and she walks away

"You're welcome."

I sit down and clear my throat then place a rose on the table, I look behind me when someone says my name, "Spencer?" I turn and see her standing there

"Cat?" I asked getting up

"Hi!"

"Hello." I greeted

"Nice to finally-" She started to say coming in for a hug but I back up

"Oh-sorry, I have a- a germ thing. Oh. I'm kind of weird with hu-hugs." I tell her and we stand there for a bit

"Can I sit down?" She asked

"Yes, please. Oh, yeah. Of course. Sit down." I told her and we sit down and she takes her coat off, I was about to open my mouth to say something but then close in

"First time doing this?" She asked me

"Yeah. I mean, yeah."

"Yeah, I-I still get nervous, too. Really, it wasn't until an hour ago that I was like, wait, we've been trading emails back and forth, but I still have no idea what this guy looks like." She tells me

"Hence the..."

"I know. And then I was like, wait, he's going to bring a red rose, so we need to go to a nicer place, which is why I switched the restaurant last-minute-" She explained

"Not a problem at all."

"And now I need to change and put something nice on for this place, 'cause I was totally under dressed, and my whole wardrobe makes me look like a Kardashian." And I looked at her confused, "You don't know who that is, do you?" She asked me

"No, oh, yeah, Robert Kardashian. He got O.J. Simpson off. You-you don't look like his daughters." I say to her

"Yeah, no, I was making a joke about them."

"No, it was good. It was a good joke." I reassured her

"No, it wasn't." She says and we chuckle, "Can we start over? Hi, I'm Cat."

"Hi-hi, I'm- I'm Spencer."

"It really is nice to meet you, in person, finally." She tells me

"It's nice to meet you."

"Tell me a little bit about yourself. Do you really have 3 Ph.D.s?" She asked

"Yes. Um, I-yeah, I do, I have 3 Ph.D.s."

"What was your favorite book that you read last year?" She asked me

"Um, honestly, I've never read a book I didn't love." I said to her

"Tell me about your wife. If you don't mind." She says and I suddenly I get more nervous

"I'd, uh, I'd rather not talk about her."

"Might as well get it out in the open, right? That's why we're here. How long have you been married?" She asked me

"4 years." I replied, it wasn't really a lie, I've been married for 3

"When is she due to give birth?"

I cleared my throat, "Uh...A couple of- a couple of months. Should we talk about price now, or..."

"Slow down, tiger. What exactly are we negotiating here?" She asked me

"You know."

"I want to hear you say it." She says and I look around the table avoiding eye contact, "To have her killed."

"Let me see your ring." She tells me and hold my hand out to her, "You know what that is? A noose. Only it doesn't kill you all at once. It kills you slowly, day by day. You ever feel that way?" She asked me

"I feel that way all the time."

"Take it off." She says to me

"Why?"

"As a sign of your commitment. To me." She answered and i take the ring off putting it in her hand

 **Elizabeth POV...**

 _"If she sticks to pattern, she'll take him to a secondary location and kill him."_ JJ says to us over my ear piece

"We're not gonna let it get that far." I replied sitting in a covered booth away from Spencer, "Aaron, do you have a visual?" I asked him

 _"Just hacked in."_ Garcia tells me

 _"All right, Reid we have you over her left shoulder. Do you copy?"_ Aaron asked him and there was a pause, _"All right, all agents stand by. Dr. Reid will give the green light. Don't move until we have it."_ He tells us and I continued to sit there listening in on the woman sitting with my husband.

 **Spencer POV...**

"24-karat?" She asked me

"Mm-hmm."

"24k times... 4 years means this ring should be dinged and nicked. But the sucker is brand-new." She says putting the ring in her purse, "You're not married." She tells me and I hear a click

 _"What was that? Was that what I think it was?"_ I hear Garcia ask over my hidden ear piece, I knew Liz heard it as well and probably wanted nothing more then to rush over here to me and kill her, but she can't

 _"Everybody hold."_ Hotch says

"Why are we here, Spencer?" Cat asked me

"We're here because you belong to a network of 4 hit men who've been operating in the shadows of the Internet. You're known as Miss .45. My team and I have been hunting for months, and I knew that if I boxed you in, I could arrest you with as little resistance as possible."

"Your team being the behavioral analysis unit of the FBI?" She asked and I nodded my head, "You guys are good. You're the only ones that got close to us. But we got kind of close to you, too, didn't we? Hi, Penelope." She says leaning a little closer to my microphone, "Do you know why I'm so good at my job?"

"Because you kill without compunction or remorse."

"That only gets a girl so far in life. No, it's because I think through every potential outcome and then I plan accordingly. You see, I didn't walk into your trap. You walked into mine." She tells me

* * *

"Where's your head, Spencer? What are you thinking about?" She asked me moving over to me in the booth

"I was thinking about entropy." I tell her and she puts her hand on my chest moving it downwards

"Mm-hmm."

"It's the thermodynamic measure of the degradation of matter and energy in the universe. To put it another way-" I said with a slight jump in my voice as she grabbed my gun

"There's your gun." She says and the waiter walked over

"Good evening."

"Hi, uh, you know what? We've been having so much fun getting to know one another, we'll let you know when we're ready, ok? Thank you." She tells him and he smiles then walks away, "Now that we got that out of the way, will you do me a favor and tell Blondie McBlonderson over there at the bar to disappear." She says and I look a JJ

 _"JJ, stand down."_ Hotch tells her over the radio, she sets her drink down, gets up and walks over to us walking by.

"Thanks for playing, sweetie." Cat tells her moving back to her side of the booth

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I sat there and watched JJ walk into the kitchen area then I take a drink

 _"If she learns how many agents we have outside, she'll start shooting. Elizabeth, get ready to take her out."_ Aaron tells me

"Yeah."

 _"Reid, do not let her get up from the table."_ Aaron ordered him

 **Spencer POV...**

"All right, you're in charge. Tell me what you want and I'll see if I can get it here for you."

"Anything I want?" She asked me

"Anything you want."

"Like a million dollars in unmarked bills, maybe a plane to Aruba?" She asked

"Is that what you want?"

"And you'll say you'll bring it here, but the real plan is to distract me from what is, I'm sure, an impressive law enforcement response just outside that door. Is that the plan?" She asks me

"That's the plan." I tell her

"Ok, let's talk, but let's talk about something interesting, at least. Tell me about me."

"You, you're a black widow hit woman. You specialize in seduction and you're patient. You learn everything you can about the men you're hired to kill, physically, psychologically, and emotionally, because you want them in as compromised a position as possible so they don't see it coming when you pull the trigger." I point out to her

"And when I do it really well, they pull the trigger themselves. Give me your phone."

"Why?" I asked her

"Because I know what I want now. I want to play a game with you. You like games?" She asked me

"I do."

"Do you win?"

"I always win. Give it to me." She tells me and I grabbed my phone out, "Ok, here's my game. You have 30 minutes to answer every question I ask. And if you lie, I'll know. Because I've spent the past 10 years of my life studying men and their lies before I kill them. Do you believe me?" She asked

"I do."

"That was true. You're getting this. Now, here's how we'll know who wins at the end of 30 minutes. If you win, you'll drag me out of here in handcuffs. But if I win, you will escort me out like a gentleman, to make sure I exit safely. What do you say, Spencer? Think you can win this one?" She asks

"Considering everything you've put Garcia and so many people through, you're going to have to shoot me in the face before you walk out of here." I tell her

"Game on."

"What do you want to ask me?" I asked her

"How you found me, of course. A professional learns from her mistakes."

"We got our big break in the case at the end of last year. I didn't learn how big until I came back from some time off." I said

"Why'd you take time off?" She asked

 _ **3 days ago...**_

"Hey, you!" Savannah tells me opening the front door to hers and Morgan's house

"Hi."

"Welcome back. Come in." She says moving aside and I walked in

"Thank you."

"I know you're not a hugger. I don't care." She said and pulled me into a hug

"Hey, get your greasy hands off my girl." Morgan tells me walking into the room, "Nice to have you home, kid." He says holding up his fist and I put my hand on it

"Good to be back."

"Let me get my stuff." He tells me and walks away

"That thing you called about, here's some updated stats." Savannah told me hand me a file

"Thanks." I put it in my bag

"Stats? Stats from what?" Morgan asked her walking back in

"Medical research. Shop talk. Things you wouldn't be interested in."

"Well, I can tell you what I am interested in, and that is you." He tells her pulling her to him

"You gonna love me forever?" She asked him

"Yes, I am."

"Forever ever?" She asked and my phone beeped

"For ever, ever, ever."

"Guys. Garcia and Hotch need us ASAP for a briefing on the 4 hit men."

 _ **Now..**_

"Stop."

"What?" I asked her

"You didn't tell me why you took time off."

"It's not relevant." I tell her

"That's not the game. The game is you answer every question I ask. Is it a secret?" She asked

"No."

"Is it dirty?" She asked again

"No." I tell her again

"Then tell me."

"It's not important to your story." I said

"Out of curiosity, is it me you don't want to tell or the people listening in?"

"Is this really how you want to spend your 30 minutes?" I asked her

"Yes." She told me then thought about it, "No. Ok, so you were saying you showed up for work that morning and..."

"We learned that someone unexpected decided to talk." I tell her

"And who would that be?"

 _ **3 Days ago...**_

"Brian Cochran from the NSA. I've placed him on 24/7 lockdown at USP Terre Haute. The network has proven that they can kill anyone, anywhere, anytime, and now that they've targeted Garcia, we can't afford to lose another lead. Cochran used one of the hitmen to target DEA supervisor Graff." Hotch tells us as we sit in the round room

"But we can press him on that to get him to cooperate." Morgan tells him

"Well, fortunately that won't be necessary. He had a breakdown in solitary confinement and he was already willing to make a deal."

"We need to go talk to him." Liz tells him

"Garcia and I already did."

"That is, we video-conferenced with him. He was limited in what he could tell us about the hit people. He didn't know their names, but he did know all of their areas of expertise." Garcia adds

"How specific do they get?" I asked her, "Most successful hit men are basically just Swiss army knives of murder." I point out

"Well, take the O.G. hit guy who got us into this mess, Giuseppe Montolo. Remember him? He was a genius at making hits look like an accident. The others, depends what you're looking for. Take the guy that's still out there who's responsible for shooting poor Mr. Graff. He's known simply as the sniper. He can make a T-zone shot from over 2,000 meters."

"Which means he's ex-military. Not necessarily ours, but he's definitely trained." Morgan mentioned

"So who's number two?" Tara asked Garcia

"That would be the chemist. He works with poison. He specializes in hits that don't leave a trace."

"He sounds delightful. What about number 3?" Elizabeth asked

"Well, that would be the bomber. According to Cochran, he's responsible for this." Garcia tells us showing the images, "It's a chemical fire in Tianjin, China. Apparently a bureaucrat didn't pay his bribe on time."

"You know that's conspiracy theory garbage." JJ points out

"But what is credible is Cochran's insistence that he was trained by Mossad. Jack Garrett's following up on leads." Hotch tells her

"That leaves us with number 4, the one with the highest body count of them all." Garcia says

"And who's that?" I asked

 _ **Now...**_

"Me" Cat says to me

"Yes"

"Wow, that was really impressive. Yeah, the way you just made all those brilliant deductions with all that information that was just handed to you on a silver platter. Quick question-are you guys really profilers or are you just lucky? Because this, what I'm about to say-is profiling. The reason you took time off from work was to deal with the same girl who broke your heart." Cat says to me

"No."

"The death of a parent, then." She says and I shift my eyes

"No."

"Ah, hello, I'm getting close. It's mom or dad in the billiard room with the candlestick." She says and I just look at her, "Oh, you're mad at me, aren't you?"

"Not even a little bit."

"Yes, you are, I can tell." She says

"No offense, but you're not really worth getting angry at." I tell her

"So you figured out what the 4 of us did, and then what?"

"We profiled that you operated as spokes on a wheel. Somehow it had to be centralized, how you got jobs, who paid you. Somebody did all that for you." I told her

"You found the Snowman, didn't you?"

 _ **3 Days ago...**_

"Great. So who's this Snowman?" Liz asked

"Cochran says he's the I.T. expert. He's the key to the whole network." Hotch tells her

"But if he set it up, he's not just gonna tear it down because we ask nicely." Morgan points out to him

"He will because he was kidnapped by one of the hitmen and held against his will in a safe house."

"I wonder how that feels." Garcia says

"Even if they have him under duress, he's still gonna be impossible to find." JJ mentions

"We will find him... With this." Hotch says holding up a flash drive

 _ **Now...**_

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm confused. What just happened there?" Cat asked

"When we arrested Cochran, we found a flash drive, one that gave us access to a specific shadow of the Darknet, one we didn't even know existed. Garcia used it to find the website that Snowman set up for all of you. Once we had the website, we had geography, specifically, the safe house you were keeping him in. So we waited until the shift change when we knew we could take two of you down at once."

"Well, well, well, you took the chemist and the sniper out of commission, huh?" She asked

"Did you know?"

"I knew something was off. They didn't bid on some contracts. And this isn't the kind of job where you get to take time off to be with your... Mother? Is it your mom? It's gotta be your mom." She says but I stayed quiet, "Why'd you take time off from the FBI?"

"I'm not gonna tell you."

"Spencer, why did you take time off from the FBI?" She asked again

"You can ask me as many times as you want, and you can continue to waste your time, but I'm still not gonna tell you." I said to her

"Then you're cheating, and I don't like cheaters."

"You don't get everything you want just because you're pointing a gun at me under a table. You're not the first killer to point a gun at me. You're not even the first woman to point a gun at me. Sorry." I say

"You're really gonna take this all the way, aren't you?" She asked me

"Yeah."

"So am I." She says

 _"Elizabeth, go."_ I hear Hotch tell her in my ear piece, _No_

"Look at my face. Does it look like I'm bluffing?" She asked me

"I know you're not bluffing."

"I'm gonna ask you one more time. Before you say no, I want you to consider something." She says and puts her hand on my tie covering my mike, "I'll kill the fed walking toward me first." She tells me and my heart stops, "A stationary target's easier to hit. After that it's a free-fire zone."

"Fine, I'll tell you." I said to her

"Sorry, what was that?" She asked me

"I'll tell you. Liz, stand down." I tell her and turned my head to face her, I saw worry and anger on her face, "Please." I begged and she looks at me then Cat then walks away

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Welcome to the locker room." JJ tells me as I walk in to the kitchen

"I hate the locker room." I replied uncocking my gun

 **Spencer POV...**

"My mom has schizophrenia, and the doctor has changed her medication, which seemed to agitate her, and so I went to the treatment center to help her." I confess to her

"That's it?" She asked

"That's it." I tell her

"You just risked your life over mommy's pills?"

"It's the truth." I said

"It's part of the truth. You're holding something back. Here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna penalize you by adding 10 minutes. And keep in mind that the only reason you're not dead right now is because I did learn something important."

"Oh, really? What's that?" I asked her

"Your backup. I flushed them out. It's just you and me now. So when we left off, the score was you had two of our guys and the Snowman. You must have thought you were home free." She tells me

"No. If anything, the case was harder."

 _ **3 Days ago...**_

"I can't tell you much about them. It's not like we had a lot of heart-to-heart conversations while they handcuffed me to a computer." The Snowman tells us

"Do you know any of their names?" Tara asked him

"No. But I know their bank accounts."

"How long do you think we have before the other two realize the network's been compromised?" I asked

"Two days, maybe. They like being independent contractors, so they always work jobs separately. And, uh, they rely on me to coordinate all their online traffic."

"Which I can help fake." Garcia tells him

"Yeah. We have the facade covered on our end, but they also have back channel communications that I can't account for. Especially the bomber."

"Why him?" Liz asked

"I don't know. All I know is when they would rotate watching over me, he never showed."

"I know why. He's paranoid. Most explosive experts are. Blow everything up, you live in fear that you're next." JJ mentions

"We need to lure out the hit woman. If we can take her alive, she'll lead us to the bomber." Hotch says

"We have to give her a target worth coming out of hiding for." Morgan adds

"That means me, doesn't it?" Garcia asked them

"No."

"Sir-" She started to say but Morgan cut her off

"Garcia, that's not gonna happen. It's too dangerous to leave you out there exposed like that."

"You have a record of all the kills she was paid for?" Hotch asked the kid

"I have records of everything."

"All right. Even a contract killer can have a victimology, a pattern of which she's not aware. We need to find that." Hotch tells us

 _ **Now...**_

"But first we had to get the data that we needed from the Snowman. From that we could start to build the profile that would lead us to you. When we knew what we were looking for, the pattern was obvious."

 _ **3 Days ago...**_

"These 3 hits-they were all men who wanted to kill their wives." I tell Hotch handing him the files

"That's the oldest motivation in the book. Why are they special?" Liz asked me

"She took their money, then killed the men who hired her."

"All 3 of them had children." Hotch mentions and I shifted, Liz wasn't going to like this

"Maybe children are the line hit men won't cross?" She asked

"The chemist and the sniper both performed jobs that involved families. Theoretically, if the price is high enough, a hit man shouldn't have morals. I think these kills are personal to her. Personal enough to risk double-crossing her contract." I point out

"Maybe something similar happened to her." Hotch says

"And that's how we get her to come to the table. I pretend to be that kind of client." I tell them and saw Liz look at me

"How do we know that's gonna work?" Hotch asked me

"We don't. It's a calculated risk based on her M.O., which is categorically different than the men."

"They're cold, clinical, long-distance. She's up close and personal." Liz tells me

"She knows that she has to be more careful because she actually wants to kill her targets. I'm going to pretend to be a husband who wants his pregnant wife dead."

"Well, I'd want to kill you if you told me that." Liz says and I put my hand on her arm

"Exactly. Then all we have to do is set the right meeting spot. A bar or a restaurant we control so the odds are better of us taking her alive."

"That's our best strategy." Hotch tells her and she sighed, "But there is one flaw."

 _ **Now...**_

"You. You're the flaw. You're not married and you don't have children." Cat says to me, _As far as you know_

"I'm the person on my team who's the closest to your age, and I knew that if I lost control of the situation, you'd be more likely to negotiate with a peer."

"You have zero control here. None. I outflanked you from the beginning." She tells me

"Some of your moves were pretty obvious." I point out to her

"Such as?"

"Such as showing up armed. Such as changing the venue at the last moment." I said

"I needed a restaurant full of innocents in case this was a trap." She says

"If you really suspected this was a trap, then why show up at all? Even when you first laid eyes on me, from the bar, from outside, from wherever you were, you should have seen through me and kept on moving, but you didn't. You couldn't. Because you can't get to the man you really want to hurt, so you need to hurt any man who reminds you of him." I mention to her

"That's kind of boilerplate psychology, isn't it? I'm just another girl with daddy issues."

"You'd be surprised how many killers do what they do because of their parents." I say to her, "If it's so boilerplate, why don't we test that theory? How hard did you look for him?"

"Very hard."

"And how disappointed were you when you realized that you will never find him? You needed some other outlet for your rage, and for a while this worked, but it also tripped you up. Can I tell you a little secret? Everything eventually falls apart. The trick is accepting when it's over." I tell her and for a moment it looked like I was getting to her but then the timer on my phone beeped

"Except it ain't over, is it?" She asked me

"Do you really think I'm just gonna let you walk out of here?"

"You profiled so much about me, except you forgot to ask the most important question. Why would I make you sit here for 30 minutes?" She asked

"Because you're stalling."

"Then you don't know me at all. Did you guys show up here without an escape plan? Or is that what just another girl with daddy issues do? Maybe if you hadn't fallen victim to your own gender bias, and, yes, all men have gender bias, even you, Dr. Reid, you would have recognized that your entire strategy was based on one faulty detail." She says and it clicked

"You're not here alone."

"And my partner? Less paranoid than you think." She says

"You planted a bomb in the building."

 _"We're on the move"_ JJ says over the radio and right now Liz popped into my head

"I didn't. My job was to keep your entire team focused on us, so he could do what he does best." Cat tells me

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Hotch, we've got interconnected c-4 charges down here." JJ tells him

 _"How many?"_

"There's 6 charges. They're connected to the city's gas line. She could take out the whole block." I replied

 **Spencer POV...**

"There are innocent people here." I tell her

"Yes, there are. So let me remind you what we're playing for. Not only will I walk out of here, but you will make sure I leave safely. And from where I'm sitting... It looks like I've won. You need to pay attention to this part. I'm going to tell you the terms of my victory. I want you to move all of your backup away from this building. If I walk out of here and I see one cop, I will incinerate us all."

"I can't do that." I said

"Spencer-"

"It's not me. What you're asking takes time." I point out and she grabs my tie

"This is to whoever's in charge. Unless you guys want to be responsible for the biggest FBI disaster since Waco, you will back off now." She says and lets go, "Watch this."

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

 _"JJ, say again. The bomb has a cell phone trigger?"_ Aaron asked her

"That's right. All she has to do is call the number and boom."

"The fail safe will still kick in. Same outcome-can't move 'em, can't submerge 'em." I point out

 _"It'll take us hours to get the gas turned off on the whole block. If we alert anyone, then the panic could set her and the bomb off."_ Aaron tells us

"SWAT's on the radio with the bomb squad. They say our only chance is to get our hands on that cell phone. If we shut down the trigger, we can remove the charges." JJ mentioned

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Look at that. There they go." Cat says and I see waiters heading over to tables

"All we want to do-"

"Minimize the collateral damage. I get it. I'm not mad. It'll give me the cover I need to slip out. I just need to know it's clear, so do me a favor and tell your boss that nobody leaves until it's safe for me to."

 _"Reid, perimeter agents are pulling back. You have to let her go."_ Hotch tells me over the radio

"Well?" She asked

 _"Repeat-all agents, do not engage or pursue until the bomb is defused."_ Hotch says

"Spencer..."

"You can leave." I tell her and she grabs her coat and purse then gets out of the booth, "But you won't."

"I'm sorry?" She asked me

"Double or nothing. I need to sit back down."

 _"Reid, what are you doing?"_ Hotch asked me but I ignored him

"Wow, now you're stalling." Cat says to me

"You played your trump card, but I have one, too." I tell her

"Thanks for dinner. I had fun." She says and starts to walk away

"I found your father." I tell her and she turns to face me

"No, you didn't."

"Look at my face. Am I bluffing?" I asked her, "I'll tell you where he is. But you need to sit back down and listen to the rest of my story."

"No. Tell me now. Or I'll-"

"Detonate the bomb?" I asked cutting her off, "You're not gonna do that, Cat, because then you won't learn anything. You said you were good at your job because you think through every outcome. Well, guess what- so do I."

"All right. Finish the story." She tells me sitting back down

"To prepare for this dinner, I had to learn everything about you, starting with your real name."

 _ **Earlier tonight...**_

"Foster care records locked, loaded, and searchable." Garcia tells me as I join her and Liz putting on my tie

"According to the emails she sent me setting up tonight, her name is Cat. So let's assume her name is Catherine." I tell her and I failed to do my tie so Liz pulled me to her and started doing it

"Give me more." Garcia tells me

"Suspicious death for mom, and her dad most likely went away for manslaughter." I add

"Keep it coming." She says

"Rampant abuse. She would have been in a world of pain." I tell her and Liz gets my tie fixed then fixes my collar, I put my hand on her face and she puts her hand on mine

"Sadly that does not rule out any Catherine's." Garcia tells us

"Her first kills were most likely in the foster environment. Cross-reference all those families the Catherine's went into with accidental deaths of foster dads, and focus on those that have multiple abuse complaints leveled against them." Liz tells her

"Ding."

 _ **Now...**_

"Catherine Adams. Daughter of Daniel Adams, who did in fact leave the country in 1987 but returned in 2012. Based on confidential records in rehabs and sober living houses, which in turned pointed us to flophouses and soup kitchens. He couldn't put 24 hours together sober. And you can probably imagine my surprise when I discovered that he actually lives right here in D.C." I tell her

"Where?"

"It's not that simple. He was in bad shape when I found him."

"He didn't remember me?" She asked

"The alcoholism shredded his brain. I'm sorry."

"You're not sorry. Sorry is what people say when they don't understand." She tells me and looks at me, "Wait. Your mother-tell me."

"Is-is this part of the game?" I asked her

"No. The game's over."

"When I looked at her medical chart, it-it didn't make any sense. The medication that they gave her should have been helping, but I couldn't figure out what was making her so angry. So, I, uh, I went to see her. The moment I walked in her room, I saw it. For 3 seconds... She didn't know who I was. I, um, I had her tested that morning, and I found out that night... That she had early onset of dementia. Most likely Alzheimer's." I tell her

"Did you test yourself?" She asked but I stayed quiet, "No, you didn't. You were too scared."

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Did you know?" JJ asked me

I sighed, "Yes" I tell her and she put her hand on my shoulder

 **Spencer POV...**

"I thought I dodged a bullet when I turned 30 and didn't have a schizophrenic break like her, but, uh, this is somehow bigger and scarier because I can actually see it happening. All the memories that we used to share are just dying. I can't stop it. I can't help her. All I can do is find people that I can help." I tell her

"Is that really why you showed up tonight? To help me? Do you know how many men have told me that they wanted to help me? How do you think that worked out for them?" She asked me

 _"Hotch, she just armed the bomb."_ JJ says over the radio

 _"Aaron, we need to pull back."_ I hear Liz say and for a moment I couldn't breather because now my wife was in danger

"You're right. You don't need my help. You don't need anyone's help. You are completely in control." I tell Cat then the next thing I knew I see Morgan and Tara apprehend a lady at the bar

 _"Hotch, we're clear"_ JJ says over the radio and I feel relieved but Cat grabs me and we both stand with her gun pointed at me

"Don't!"

"FBI. Everybody stay calm, please." Morgan tells everyone

"We're gonna be smart about this and talk it out. Aren't we, Cat?" Tara asked her

"That's up to you."

"Get everyone out of here." I tell them and Tara tells people to go, "Morgan, you, too."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Guess we're right back where we started. You and me with a gun." Cat tells me

"Reid, it's time." Morgan says to me

"No."

"We don't have a choice. We have to do it." He says

"Do what?" Cat asked him

"Morgan, shut up."

"There's one thing he hasn't told you yet." Morgan tells her

"That's not true. He's lying. Don't listen to him." I say to her

"What haven't you told me?" She asked me

"Nothing. I told you-nothing! Nothing!"

"What don't I know?" Cat asked

"We brought your father here." Morgan tells her and I sighed

"Here? He's here?" She asked him

"He's right outside. Reid thought he needed every bargaining chip he could get."

"Morgan, I'm begging you, don't. Don't." I begged

"Every bargaining chip he could get to convince you to do the right thing." He tells her

"How is this the right thing?"

"Your father killed your mother. And there's no statute of limitations on murder, so you really need to think about your options right now. You shoot him, I will kill you. Or if you surrender, you will live to testify against your father." Morgan says

"That's not good enough." She tells him

"We can arrange it for the two of you to drive into custody together, and then you can remind him of who you are."

"If you give her this, she wins. Don't do it." I pleaded

"Kid, I am trying to save your life. Now let me do that." He tells me and we hear a beeping, "Their bringing him in right now."

"You're really upset about this, aren't you?" Cat asked me

"This is what you wanted, isn't it, a chance to finally hurt the man who deserves it?" Morgan asked her

"They all deserve it."

"He deserves it the most." Morgan tells her and I shake my head

"Only if Spencer escorts me out."

"Deal." I tell her and she drops her gun, Morgan walks over and hands me cuffs and I cuff her, we walk out of the restaurant and see the van sitting there

"Wait." She tells me and we stop, "Ok, I'm ready." I lead her over to the van and opened the doors showing no one else inside, I ld her into the van sitting her down on the seat, "You lied to me."

"If it makes you feel any better, I really- I did look for him. But...I couldn't find him, so, yeah, I did make it all up." I tell her chaining her cuffs to the floor chain

"Not all of it. You don't pull a story about a parent losing her memory out of nowhere. Your mother and the Alzheimer's, that's true. I won."

"How so?" I asked her

"Because I will get out of here."

"Yeah, in 20 years, maybe, if you're lucky." I tell her

"Yeah, that's fine. You know why? Because in 20 years...I'll remember your name, but you won't remember mine." She tells me and I get up and exit the van

* * *

"So...You want to come in, decompress a bit?" Morgan asked me as we made our way to his front door

"I'm good. I'm probably just gonna go home and be with Liz and Alexander"

"That was an intense case." He says to me and I chuckled

"Yeah. It's over. Network's gone."

"Yeah. Reid. That medical research that Savannah gave you, was that..." He started to ask me

"Yeah."

"You are gonna get yourself tested, aren't you?" He asked

"One of the data points that her research told me about was age. I'm, uh, too young to display the chromosomal signs, so I'm just gonna have to... Learn to live not knowing." I tell him and the door opens, we turn to see Garcia walking out with Savannah following her

"Oh, my God."

"Oh, hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. What is happening right now?" Morgan asked

"You're what's going on. Right now is what's- you are here. Do you know what's happening right now? It is-it is done. The Dirty Dozen is done. Yes, done. I'm in it! It's..."

"How much did she have?" Morgan asked Savannah and I started to smile

"She started out with Jaeger"

"Jaeger?" Morgan asked

"I love you," Garcia tells him pulling him into a hug, "I love you. And you- I love you so much." She tells me and looks at Savannah, "And you, I should be jealous of you because you're so hot. But I'm not. I'm not. I promise you I'm not. I'm not. I promise. No, I'm not. 'Cause you know what? All I feel in here is love. I just- I am feeling- I'm full of love. So much love. I'm wearing too many clothes." Garcia says walking back to the house

"Uh, I got this" Savannah said following her

"You sure you don't want to reconsider?" Morgan asked me

"I think I'm ok. I'm just gonna- I really just want to go home." I tell him and started to leave but he stopped me

"Hey, kid. Can I tell you something?" He asked me

"Yeah." I said and he pulls me into a hug

"I just, uh..." He starts to say but I knew where he was going

"Yeah."

"You know?" He asked and I wrap my arms around him

"I know. I know."

"Good. Because I mean it." He says and I pull away, "I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

I leave Morgan's and I start walking when I end up at a park, I look at the swing set and walk over sitting on one. I get lost in my own thoughts when I hear leaves rustling

"Hey handsome" I hear Liz say and I looked up at her

"Hi beautiful." I respond and hold me hand out for her to grab which she does and sits on my leg, "Are you okay?" I asked her

"I think it should be me asking you that" She says and I gave a small chuckle, "But yes I'm fine, I'm worried about you though"

"Why?"

"After what happened tonight, bringing up what's going on with Diana, I know how you get." She says and I kissed her

"As long as I have you, nothing can bring me down, I'm just glad you're safe" I tell her putting my hand on her stomach, "Both of you." I said and she puts her hand on mine and kissed me again

"I love you" She says

"I love you too"

 **A/N: Wow that was a load, this took two days to write, not for lack of trying but because I have been working like crazy. Anyways I hope you enjoyed it and I should have the next update tomorrow hopefully. Until then my fine furry friends**


	46. Chapter 46

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **A/N: I want to make a very public apology for coming off like I'm desperate for reviews, I'm not I just want to know if everyone is still enjoying themselves and if you had any ideas for me. I love my readers and all that matters to me is that you are captivated by this story as much as I am because I do this for you.**

"Spencer stop we're gonna be late" I tell my husband as he continues to place kisses on my neck putting his hands under my shirt

"I can't help it, my wife is just...so...beautiful" He said between kisses

I turned and faced him wrapping my arms around his neck, "Don't you think you got enough of me last night? Both times?"

"Second time was your fault, you started kissing my chest and you know I love that." He says and I giggled

"Sorry, you know what it was like the last time I was pregnant and this far along" I point out to him indicating to my 6 month pregnant belly

"I do, I also remember that you would also eat pickles and cool ranch chips at the same time."

"Oh great now I'm craving that." I tell him and he kissed me

"Good thing I put them in a bag for you and their in your purse."

"I have the best husband ever" I say to him then kissed him

"Come on lets go to work you goof."

* * *

"Last night, this girl, Gina Bryant, flagged down a police car in St. Louis. She was wearing nothing but a dirty nightgown and she was barefoot. And she told them that she had been kidnapped when she was 8." Garcia informed us

"That girl's gotta be 19 or 20 years old." Morgan told her

"18. And they confirmed her identity. She was a foster kid who disappeared 10 years ago."

"She's been in captivity this whole time?" I asked her

"Long-term hostage. That's rare. We got another Ariel Castro here?" Rossi asked

"Funny you should say that. Not funny ha ha, funny weird. She told the police that she was held captive with this girl, Sheila woods, 15 years old, who disappeared from Nashville 7 years ago. Also she said there was another girl, too, but all she knows about her is that her name is Violet and she was older." Garcia mentions

"I'm assuming you've checked the missing children's database." Rossi told her

"Affirmative. There's no Violet anywhere."

"Did Gina say anything about her captor?" Spencer asked

"Just that his name is Tom and he was an older white dude."

"And where were they being held?" I asked her

"This house." She replied pulling up the pictures

"Gina took the cops there. They found Sheila. Sheila's at the hospital, very ill with something yet to be determined. Violet nowhere to be found."

"It's probably safe to assume that she's with the unsub." Aaron points out

"Who owns the house?" Spencer asked

"Oh, that's where it gets even weirder. This woman, Clara Riggins. She's MIA, but her checking account is active, she pays her bills on time, and if my math is correct, she's 108 years old."

"I might be going out on a limb here, but I'm gonna bet she had nothing to do with the kidnapping." Rossi says

"The real question's where is the unsub and this other girl Violet?" Morgan asked

"That's what we're gonna find out. Lewis is on a research assignment. Wheels up in 30." Aaron tells us

* * *

"Both Gina and Sheila were grabbed when they were 8." I point out looking at the pictures on my tablet feeling my heart break, I hate when kids are involved

"And both just blocks away from their homes." Morgan adds

"And made a clean getaway each time. No witnesses." Rossi added as well

"There's an excellent chance he stalked them. Clean getaways usually mean they know daily routines and are familiar with the area." Spencer brought up

"So this guy's patient and has a plan. Which means he has patterns too." Morgan says

"This guy's more than just a preferential pedophile. His victims are children, but that's probably more about establishing control. Long-term captivity is what matters to him." Rossi mentions

"We've seen profiles like this before. There's always a sexual assault component to their M.O.s." I tell them and Garcia comes on the screen

 _"Hello, all. I just sent you the 4-1-1 on the statements from police reports. Turns out the neighbors haven't seen Clara Riggins in 20 years. Most of them didn't even know that she existed. But they all know who this Tom guy is. According to this one lady, Tom told her that he was Clara's grandson. But I triple-checked. Clara doesn't have any relatives anywhere."_

"Did we get a description from any of the neighbors?" Aaron asked her

"Affirmative. And they also gave me the make and model of Tom's blue van. It's a pretty common vehicle. I got a long list of registered owners. So far the 3 Toms and Thomases on that list all check out."

"All right, stay on it." Aaron tells her

 _"You know I will, sir."_

"When we land, Dave, you and Morgan go to the house. Elizabeth, you and Reid are with me at the hospital. We need to talk to the girls and find out everything they remember."

* * *

"Agents, thank you for waiting." The doctor tells us walking out of the room

"Of course. How is she?" Aaron asked him

"Looks like she had complications from a miscarriage. Her infection turned septic. We had to perform an emergency hysterectomy. And she has several old scars on her back. If I didn't know better, I'd say they were from a whip."

"Any idea when she might wake up?" I asked looking in the room

"There's no way to tell."

"What about Gina Bryant?" Spencer asked

"She's doing much better, all things considered. Malnourished, dehydrated, a couple nasty cuts and bruises. But she should be ok. Physically, anyway."

"Do you think she's able to answer a few questions?" Aaron asked

"She was pretty agitated when she came in, so we gave her a mild sedative. But she has the same scars on her back, and she's got a bunch of old injuries that didn't heal properly. Broken ribs, tibia, a couple of fingers. I hope you catch the guy who did this" He tells us and walks away.

* * *

I sat in a chair in Gina's room with Spencer next to me looking out the window when I see Gina open her eyes and I stand up, "Hi, Gina. My name's Elizabeth. This here is my husband Spencer."

"Hi."

"We're with the FBI. Do you know what that is?" I asked her

"The police?"

"Yeah. Something like that." I tell her

"I already talked to the police."

"Well, we're-we're a little bit different. Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?" I asked her, "Can you tell me about the day you were kidnapped?"

"I went to the park. I forgot my sweatshirt. But I didn't want to go home."

"Why not?" I asked

"That lady Trisha was mean."

"Your foster mother, Trisha? Trisha Gilmore?" Spencer asked her

"Her kids, too. They said I wasn't worth the money they made off me.

"So you went to the playground to get away from them." I pointed out

"I went all kinds of places. Mostly there."

"What happened that day?" Spencer asks

"I saw Violet. Violet."

"The girl you were held hostage with?" I asked her she nodded her head

"She was waiting for her dad to pick her up. And that's when he came." She told me

"Who, Tom?"

"He had this little puppy. He asked me if I wanted to give him treats. He said he went crazy for treats. They were in his car. But it wasn't a car. It was a van. And he opened the door and pushed me in and he hit me. I tasted my blood, and my eyes were watery." She says and started crying, "He said I'd better listen or he was gonna hit me again. We drove... We drove for a long time. But I never saw the puppy again, though. Never saw it. He was so little. I don't know where he went, though. I'm sorry." She tells us and started breaking down, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry"

"It's ok. It's ok." I comforted her putting my hand on hers

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Shh..." I said and looked at Spencer

* * *

"Gina, do you have any idea where Tom might be right now?" I asked her as Spencer pushed her in a wheelchair down the hall and I was walking beside her

"Maybe his disappearing place."

"His disappearing place?" Spencer asked her

"He'd always leave. I liked it when he was gone, even though he never left much food."

"Do you know where the disappearing place is?" I asked

"I didn't get to go. He only took Violet and Sheila once. They were more special."

"Why were they more special?" I asked sitting on a chair in the hallway and Spencer joined me

"Because they were good. They never fought."

"But you did." I point out

"I hated to call him daddy, and I wouldn't say my name."

"What do you mean, you wouldn't say your name?" I asked

"Rose. He tried to call me that."

"Did Sheila or Violet every talk about the disappearing place?" Spencer asked her

"It's a secret. It would make Tom mad if they did."

"Well, what about Tom? Did he ever talk about it?" I asked

"One time...when he was nice. He brought pizza."

"Do you remember what he said?" Spencer asked her

"That maybe one day I could go. Then... Then he wanted to go behind the curtain. Sometimes I didn't fight as much after Sheila got there."

"Why not?" I ask

"Because we had to take care of her. So I tried to make him happy. But I made sure she remembered her real name no matter what."

"What about Violet? Do you know her real name?" Spencer asked

"Mm... Just-just Violet. Sometimes he called her Vi."

"Did Tom ever mention anyone named Clara?" I asked her

"She liked flowers. That's where we got our names. He called Sheila Daisy."

"Did you ever see Clara?" I ask

"No. But sometimes I was good and he let me go outside at nighttime, and we planted flowers. He said they were for Clara." She tells us, me and Spencer exchange a look.

* * *

"So this one right here will turn the volume up and down. And then this one if you want to change the channel, if you want to watch something different..." I explained to Gina how to work the TV remote when I heard Spencer whisper my name, "Here you go. I'll be right back." I tell her and walk out of the room

"Composite sketch of the unsub. Garcia's running facial recognition against her list of blue van owners. How's she doing?" Spencer asked me

"It's a lot. She has no money, no family, a second-grade education, not to mention a lifetime of PTSD to deal with." I tell him and nurses come rushing by

"Clear the door, clear the door, please."

 _"103. Code Blue."_

"That can't be good." I said and Spencer put his hand on my arm

 _"Dr. Givens, room 103. Code blue."_

"Given the amount of hospital staff and the level of urgency, it looks to me like Sheila might be coding." Spencer explained

"What's coding?" i hear Gina ask from behind me and I turned to see her in the doorway

"Gina, you need to get back in bed." I tell her putting my hand on her shoulder

"Is that Sheila's room?" She asked and started to walk forward but I stopped her standing in front of her

"No, no, no. Ok, you know what? Let them work. You don't want to get in their way."

"No! You don't stop working on her! You keep working on her!" Sheila's mother yelled from down the hall at the doctor and Gina moved forward again but I wrapped my arms around her shoulders

"No, no, no. Is she ok? Sheila! Sheila! What's wrong?! What's wrong with her?!" She screamed and I pulled her to me into a hug, "I have to help her! I have to help her! Please! Please! Please..." She begged and I looked at Spencer

* * *

"Is this him?" I asked Gina holding up a picture of Michael Thompson

"Yeah. Get it away, please." She says and I hand the picture back to Aaron

"I'll issue the APB." He tells me and leaves

* * *

"She's refusing treatment. She won't even tell us her last name." The doctor tells me, Spencer and Aaron as we walk down the hall

"Well, that's because she might not even remember it herself." Spencer mentions

"Violet probably isn't even her real name. It's most likely the name he gave her." I add

"We do need to talk to her." Aaron tells the doctor as we stop

"Well, you can try. You might have better luck than I did."

"It may take some time to get through to her." I point out

"All right, see what you can find out. I'm gonna go question Thompson." Aaron says and leaves

"She's probably childlike and unsocialized, exactly like Gina. And if she was held captive the longest, she almost certainly fell victim to intense trauma bonding." Spencer said walking to the door and opening it for me

"Hi. Violet? My name's Elizabeth." I tell her and she turns to look at me a little startled then stood up

"And I'm Spencer."

"Uh, can we go now? Me and my daddy, we gotta go." She asked us

"When you say daddy, do you mean Tom?" I asked her

"I don't...call him that."

"You know, that's- that's not actually his real name. His name is Michael Clark Thompson. Tom's just a name he made up." I say to her and she walks to the window then faces us again

"Kind of like your name- Violet. Do you remember your real name?" Spencer asked her

"I need my daddy. We need to go."

"Where is it that you need to go? Maybe we can help you." Spencer tells her

"He said you would do that."

"Do what?" I asked her

"Ask questions and lie. Especially about him."

"We know what he did to you, Violet. Gina told us everything." I tell her

"You found her? Did you find Daisy, too?"

"Her real name is Sheila. Sheila Woods. And, yes, we did." Spencer replied

"She was super sick. Is she ok?"

"I'm sorry, but, no, she's not. The doctors did everything they could, but she didn't make it. She died." I answered and she turned away leaning against the bed You don't have to be afraid of him anymore. We can help you."

"He said you would say that, too. You don't know anything, ok? I would be dead without him. He's the only one who loves me." She tells me turning around to face us

"Violet, please."

"I-I gotta go. Please. I've been good. I haven't done anything bad. Can I go now? Please."

* * *

"Nothing to hide, my ass. He's full of it." Rossi points out as we sit in the lobby

"The preliminary M.E. report does suggest that Clara Riggins died of natural causes." Spencer mentions

"I think he's telling the truth about that. He didn't kill her." Aaron adds

"I'm sorry, guys. I can't stop thinking about Violet. She could not wait to get out of here, like it was urgent. It's all she could talk about." I tell them

"Well, she'd been held captive most of her life. All this has to be a tremendous shock." Rossi says

"No question about that, but that wasn't it. It's like she had somewhere specific in mind and she needed Thompson to go with her." I point out

"Well, he's conditioned her to depend on him for everything." Aaron tells me

"Exactly. You condition someone by doing something over and over again. Now, we know he repeatedly abused them. I don't think she was itching to get out of here to go do that."

"Maybe he did something to reward her somehow." Rossi says

"What if she has a child? Where else would you want to go so badly?" I asked

"You know, that's not a stretch. Sheila Woods had a miscarriage. Maybe Violet brought one to term." Rossi agreed

"We did profile he might be trying to fill some kind of void since he didn't have a family." Spencer adds

"Yeah, but Gina Bryant never mentioned any baby." Rossi mentioned

"Well, Violet could have had the baby before Gina was abducted. Gina wouldn't even know about it." I tell him

"Well, if we're right about any of this, that means there's another kid somewhere out there."

"And who's taking care of it?" I asked

* * *

"Don't worry. I'll be right there with you." I tell Gina as I bring her to see Sheila's mother

"Don't leave."

"I promise." I said and we entered the room, "Excuse me, Mrs. Woods. I am so sorry to interrupt here, but...this is Gina. She was with Sheila." I say to her as Gina moves to the other side of Sheila's bed

Gina puts her hand on Sheila but quickly pulls it away and looks at the mom, "I'm sorry. I tried to help her. I tried." She says to her with her voice breaking

* * *

"Hi. You ok?" I asked Violet walking into her room sitting onon the floor next to her using the bed as a guide

"How is daddy? Can we go soon?"

"Um, we're working on it. You know, I still have a few questions I need to ask you. Ok?" I asked

"What's that thing?" she asks me indicating to my tablet

"Um, well, you can look at pictures on it. Do you know this little girl?" I asked her showing her the picture, "Her name is Amelia Hawthorne, and she is from a city called Indianapolis. And these- these are her parents. That's George and Maureen. That little girl is you. You're Amelia." I tell her

"Um...My name is Violet."

"No, sweetie. Tom took you away from your family when you were only 8. You have been gone for 15 years. Tom is not your daddy. This man is. I-I can't even begin to understand what you're feeling right now, but you must be scared and confused. I promise you, Amelia, I am your friend. Ok? And I'm here to help you. You gotta trust me. Ok?" I told her and she slowly nods her head, I could tell she was scared, "Ok. Can you do me a favor? I need you to think back and try really hard to remember. Did Tom... Did he ever get you pregnant? Did you have a baby, Amelia?" I asked her

"I can't talk about that. He gets mad." She tells me

"He's not here."

"He gets mad if I even ask about about-" She starts to say but I cut her off

"Hey. I promised you, I am here to help you. Which means you never, ever have to worry about him again." I reassured her

"My sisters."

"Your sisters?" I asked

"I got super sick. And then my belly got really big both times."

"Both times? It happened twice?" I asked the shock hitting me like a bunch of bricks

"And then one day, they just... came out, and it really hurt like crazy, but I got my sisters. Lily and Jasmine."

"Do you know where they are right now?" I asked her

"Of course. They're in the disappearing place."

"Do you know where that is? I can take you there." I tell her

"We have to drive. Can you drive?" She asked me

"Yeah, but you need to tell me where to go. Can you do that?"

"No. I don't know- I don't know where it is. I always sit in back. He drives." She says

"Well, you might remember more than you think." I point out to her

"No. Daddy knows. He can drive. Just go and get him. Go get him and we can go."

* * *

"The X-ray machine was down. Thompson's going in now." The doctor tells me and Aaron walking over then Spencer comes over as well

"Amelia Hawthorne's parents are here."

"She could barely look at their photo. I can't imagine how she'll react in person." I mentioned

"Wait. Maybe we should give her more time. Psych hasn't completed a full evaluation yet. I mean, she could become hostile or maybe even retreat into a catatonic state." The doctor says

"We don't have time. Amelia may have information about the missing children that her parents could help unlock." Aaron tells him

"It's a calculated risk, but one I think we have to take." Spencer adds

"I'll go update them." I tell them and walk over to her parents

* * *

"Hi." I told Amelia walking into her room seeing her play with the bed remote

"Did you get daddy? Is he gonna take us?"

"Uh, no, not yet." I said

"Why not?"

"Uh, there's- there's some people here that would like to see you." I say to her ushering her parents to come in

"Amelia." He mom says

"Who are they?" Amelia asked me

"They're your real parents."

"Baby, it's me. It's mama."

"I don't know you." Amelia tells her

"I know. I look different. So do you."

"I don't know them." Amelia says to me and I nod to her mother who goes into her purse and pulls out a picture

"See? That's how I looked back then. And that's your dad. And that right there... Is you. Do you remember?" her mom asked a tear streamed down Amelia's face, her mother went to wipe it but Amelia flinched away

"Don't touch me."

"Oh, Melly." Her dad says to her

"What did you say?" Amelia asked him

"M-Melly. It's what I used to call you. It's short for Amelia"

"Get out. Get out!"

"Oh, baby-" Her mom tries to say but Amelia kept screaming

"Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out now! Now! Get out!" I moved her parents to leave the room and put my hands on her shoulders and she looks at me, "I want to go home! I want my daddy! I need my daddy!"

* * *

I walked into Amelia's room with her parents after getting a nod from Rossi

"What is-what is this? Who are these people?" Michael asked

"These are her parents. And that gentleman right there is her real daddy." Rossi tells him and I could see the anger boiling up inside her father and honestly I didn't blame him

"Huh. She knows who her real daddy is. Daddy is the only one who loves you. Isn't that right, Violet?" Michael asked and trust me if I wasn't pregnant right now I'd give him a piece of my mind

"No. My name... Is... Amelia. Amelia. Amelia. Amelia!" She shouted at him pushing him against the wall, Rossi and Aaron went over and pulled them apart, "No! No! My name's Amelia!"

"There's no deal. You hear me? There's no deal!" Michael shouted as Aaron and Rossi pulled him out of the room and I wrap my arm around Amelia's shoulder and her parents look at her and I see hope in their eyes

* * *

"Ok, so, this is a little bit of a long shot, but you said Violet asked if Thompson had gotten the groceries yet?" I asked Aaron walking over to him, Rossi and Morgan

"Yeah, she said the store was right by the disappearing place." Rossi answered

"Well, we profiled he's a control freak. He likes order, which means there's a good chance he went to the same grocery store every time. If we can figure out which one, we can narrow the search." I point out

"Well, he would need the same kind of space, and he would want it close." Rossi adds

 _"Sir, yes, sir."_ I hear Garcia say over the phone

"Garcia, I need a list of clients of Michael Clark Thompson in the area." Aaron tells her

"Methinks I can do that. Let's see. Bank accounts, invoices... Bam. 83 names. That is a scary long list."

"All right, Garcia, you can eliminate anyone under the age of 70." Morgan tells her

"And they wouldn't just need to be elderly clients. They could also be disabled in some way. Anyone he could take advantage of." Rossi adds

 _"Oh. 12 names, then."_

"How many of them live near a grocery store?" I asked

 _"Define near."_

"Uh, within a mile." Aaron says

 _"Well, there are 163 grocery stores in the greater St. Louis area. Two of them do. First up is 91-year-old Herman Coker. He is a retired cop, World War II vet. No, I don't think it's him because he's got a very active Facebook account, thanks to his youngest daughter Jan who lives with him."_

"Ok, who else you got, mama?" Morgan asked

 _"Hold yourself. Fredna Nasee. Oh, not much on her. She's a retired nurse. 84 years old. She's got a daughter that lives in Boca Raton. Uh, they- they don't communicate. No phone calls, no emails, nothing."_

"Send us the address." Aaron tells her

 _"Done."_

"Morgan and Rossi, check it out." He says to them and they leave

* * *

Morgan and Rossi returned with the girls, Jasmine was being checked out by the doctor and I walked Lily to Amelia's room, I opened the door and Lily ran in hugging Amelia

"I missed you so much" Amelia says to her and I stand there watching them feeling my heart swell trying to fight back the tears

* * *

I sat on the jet looking out the window when I feel someone sit down, I look and saw it was Spencer, "You okay?" He asked me and I wiped a tear away then shook my head

"To think of what those...poor little girls had to go through, getting taken at a young age and forced to grow up with that monster who forced them to call him daddy, just makes me sick to my stomach." I said and another tear came out but this time Spencer wiped it away and rested his hand on my cheek, "I can't imagine if anything happened to Alexander or her for that matter," I said putting my hand on my belly

"Hey, nothing and I mean nothing will ever happen to them, not when they have a whole family of people who would fight like hell to protect them, especially their amazing, strong and caring mom." He says and I smile

"Their dad too." I tell him and he smiles, "By the way I was thinking and I kind of came up with a name for her."

"Oh yeah?" He asked and I nodded, "What would that be?"

"Haley Diana Reid"

He leaned over and kissed me, "Sounds perfect." He says and I kissed him again then moved myself to lean my head on his shoulder. He was right, everyone on this jet would fight like hell to protect our family, not just mine and Spencer's kids, but Henry, Michael, Joy, and Jack. I would rather die before I would let anyone get their hands on him or my kids. That's what makes us a family.


	47. Chapter 47

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **A/N: I am so sorry it took so long to update, I got distracted writing another story. I will try my hardest to continue updating for this one and my others.**

"You know what the worst part is?" Savannah asked me and Rossi as we sat in his office with her after she came to us saying Derek had been taken.

"What?" I asked

"I live with a profiler. So I know things I shouldn't. Like if they-if they wanted him dead, he'd already be dead. Right?"

"That's right." Rossi told her and there was a knock on the door then Spencer poked his head in.

"Garcia needs us." He whispered then shut the door

"You can stay here. Whatever we find out, we'll tell you." Rossi reassured her and I put my hand on her arm giving a small smile and followed him out.

* * *

"This is the block Derek was taken from." Garcia informed us as we looked at the screen, "That blue dot is him. And then at 9:23, we lose him. So I checked all the other cell signals in the area. They're all legit, aside from one that I was only able to find thanks to some technology no one outside this room needs to know about."

"What is that?" Spencer asked from behind me

"An encrypted signal most likely bouncing off a satellite." Aaron answered

"I know we're thinking this would be tied to our Darknet investigation, but satellite encryption is much higher in technology than most online crime." Spencer points out

"That's true, but the hit men are still our best lead." I add

"We need to exhaust that before we move on to other theories. JJ, you and Garcia will take an armed agent to Savannah's house and get her to pack a bag." Aaron told them

"Yes, sir. Absolutely. But why me?" Garcia asked him

"Because while she gathers her things, we're going to see if they were under surveillance." JJ says

"Whoever's behind this has been planning this for weeks, if not months. We have no time to catch up. Let's move." Aaron said and Spencer helped me stand up then we all walked out

"You ok?" He asked me and I looked into Rossi's office looking at Savannah.

"I will be, but I can't imagine what she is going through."

He pulled me to him kissing my head, "About the same feeling I had when you were taken." He says and I looked at him

"That won't happen again, ok?" I asked and he nodded then kissed me then left and I stood there with my hand on my 9 month pregnant belly.

* * *

"My contact at the Agency told me the guys who took Derek are freelance contractors and not on our side." JJ Informs us in the round room

"So they're ex-spooks?" I asked her

"Mostly foreign, a few domestic. These guys have figured out how to piggyback on existing infrastructure to hide their tracks. My contact thinks it might be this group." She says and a picture ops up on the screen.

"It's hard to sync out who might be hitching a ride on their computer traffic. Fortunately, one of the CIA versions of me is trying to crack their encryption signatures." Garcia adds

"What do we know about them so far?" Spencer asked

"A 6-man team. They do dirty work for the highest bidder." JJ says

"What kind of dirty work?" Rossi asked her

"From what we can tell, disappearances. If you need someone politically inconvenient to disappear, these guys make that happen."

"Garcia, can you zoom in on the tattoo on his forearm?" Aaron asked her

"Yeah."

We all looked at the image on the screen, "Morgan's in more trouble than we thought." Rossi says

* * *

 **Derek POV...**

I finished cutting through the guys stomach and dug out the chip to the sat phone then crawled over to the fireplace grabbing the phone a put it in there but I didn't get a signal, "Ooh. Ooh. Ah!" I yelled putting my hand down, "Not like this! Not-not like this."

"Not like what?" My pop asked sitting in a chair across from me, "You get to decide, do you?"

"No. But I'm not doing this. I'm not dying in some house in the middle of nowhere."

"Well, you let me know when you're done with your temper tantrum." He says and I notice the cigar he was holding

"That's a Dominican, right?" I asked him

"Yeah."

"We had a day of the dead thing at work. I put that in there for you." I told him

"I got it."

"Ohh I'm back, Pop." I said

"Good. Think like a profiler. Your team will find this farmhouse. That's inevitable. But what will they find when they walk in the door?" He asked me

 **Spencer POV...**

Me and JJ open the door to the farmhouse where Morgan was with our guns raised, "FBI!" I announced walking in in, "Morgan?"

"Spence." JJ says and we see Morgan on the ground but when we go over to him I check for a pulse but don't find one, I feel JJ put her hand on my shoulder as we cried

 **Derek POV...**

I walk over and see everyone standing by the wall of FBI heroes we lost and see my picture, "Anyone want to say anything?" Hotch asked everyone but they stayed quiet

"I do. I do." I said then Hotch walked away, "Hotch. Hotch. You've kept this team together, man. I know that. I want to thank you." I said but he kept going then I turned and saw JJ start to walk away, " JJ. JJ, you're one of the best people I know. No, JJ, wait." But she kept going, "Rossi." I said but he kept going, "Kid." I say to Spencer, "You've inspired me so much. I never got to tell you that." Then Elizabeth follows him, "Elizabeth, you kept my boy happy and you're so amazing I..." I stopped as she continued walking then I turned and walked over to the one member that means the most to me, "Baby girl. Please stay with me." I tell her but she walks away, "No. No, please. Please, don't leave me." I begged then looked at my picture and punched it.

"Stop that right now." My pop says as I wake up back in that farm house, "You're letting your fear take over."

"I'm so tired."

"You skipped over the most important part. When your team comes through that door, what are they gonna see?" He asked me

"Me, on the floor With a useless phone in my hand." I tell him and start pressing buttons on the phone then came to a recent call list, "Wait. If I press redial, one of those guys is gonna answer." I point out

"Mm-hmm. Exactly. You see it now?" He asked me

"Yes, I-I see it." I said and hit redial

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"I-I may have a line on him." Garcia says walking into the round room, "I just got notification from Fort Eustis. That encrypted SAT phone, it became active again and we managed to pin down one side to here. It is a 20-mile radius in Virginia. The other side was to a contractor who didn't even bother not to use his own cell phone."

"Arrogant. He thinks we can't find him." Rossi pointed out

"And he would be wrong. He being John Bradley, not S.A.S. As we had suspected. Bradley and Mr. Who Dares Wins tried to become S.A.S, but they couldn't cut it, not to mention people who are S.A.S. Don't get tattoos saying S.A.S. Because S.A. covert. That is the point. But apparently people who are dishonorably discharged from the British Royal Marines do get that tattoo." Garcia mentioned

"Your last ping has him in Derek's direction." Spencer points out

"He's probably on his way to him now. We've got helos on the roof standing by for immediate transport."

"Any way we can narrow down the search?" I asked her

"Yes. Their encryption algorithms are dust. If and when that SAT phone connects, I've got him." She says then she paused, "Sir, it just went live." She told him and we see a ping on the map on the screen.

"Let's go." Aaron says and we all got up and headed to the elevators, Spencer kissed my head then moved over to them hitting the button and the others got in, he gave one last look to me and Garcia before the doors shut. I wrapped my arm around Garcia's shoulder pulling her into a hug.

"He'll be ok." I reassured her and she gave me a small smile, "Let's go tell Savannah." I said and we walked back in up to Rossi's office.

* * *

 **Derek POV...**

I wake up in the hospital and look around then see Garcia sitting in the chair near me and Savannah was asleep with her head resting by my side, "Hi" Garcia says and I look at her.

"How long?"

"3 days."

"Thank you." I whispered to her and she smiled then blew a kiss then left the room and I see Savannah wake up and look at me, "Savannah. I'm sorry." I tell her

"For what?" She asked

"I was late for dinner."

"It's ok. You made it." She says

"No. The next time you ask, I will not be late for you. Or our son."

"How did you know?" She asked me

"I figured it out."

"Then I guess I should probably tell you that I don't know if it's a boy. It could be a girl." She pointed out

"Do you know how much I love you? How much I appreciate everything that you do? Will you marry me?" I asked her

"Yes." She says through her tears, "Yes." She got up and kissed me.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Hey beautiful." Spencer said walking up to me and I smiled, "How are you feeling?"

"Okay I guess, just a little.." I stopped when I felt a small pain in my side

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah I'm ok, I think the baby kicked, but I'm good." I tell him and he kissed me.

"Let's go home."

* * *

Later that night I woke up to a sharp pain in my side again and held the spot, I waited for a few minutes then suddenly I feel another one, "Spence," I say trying to wake him up but another one hit, "Spence, wake up." I shook him and he looked at me

"What is it?" He asked sitting up

"I think the baby's..." I stopped feeling another pain and he put his hand on my shoulder, "I think it's time." I tell him and he got up grabbing his phone rushing to the closet to grab my bag and I slowly tried to get out of bed then another pain hit.

"Hotch it's me, Liz is going into labor." He said and there was a pause as he came over with my shoes helping me get them on as another pain hit but this time it hurt more.

"Ow." I whimpered and he held my hand

"Okay, we'll see you there, I have to call Amanda." He said and hung up the phone then redialed it helping me stand up, "Let's go have a baby." He tells me and I smiled as he kissed me.


	48. Chapter 48

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **6 months later...**

"Spencer, sweetie can you.." I asked waking up after hearing Haley crying but I didn't feel him next to me so I got up and walked into her room seeing Spencer sitting in the rocking chair holding her and I smiled, "Someone's got dad wrapped around her little finger already." I whispered and he looked up and smiled at me.

"Ever since day one." He whispered back then stood up carefully placing our daughter back in her crib and I walked over to it and looked down at her

"She's so perfect." I said and Spencer pulled me to his side

"Well she takes after her mom." He says and I smile at him then he kissed me, "Let's go back to bed."

"I'm gonna check on Alexander quick then I'll be right in." I tell him and he nodded walking out, I gave one more look to my baby girl then walked out of the room and peaked into my 2 year old's room seeing him still asleep in his bed. I slowly shut the door and headed back to our room crawling back into bed with Spencer cuddling up next to him after placing a kiss on his chest and he wrapped his arms around me.

"Mmm I love you." He says and kissed my head

"I love you too."

"So..how tired are you?" He asked and I looked at him with a smirk

"Are you suggesting what I think you are Dr. Reid?"

He rolled us so I was on my back with him above me, "I sure am." He says and I giggled

"Well I think I can be persuaded." I tell him and he kissed me as I tangled my fingers in his hair, he removes my shirt throwing it onto the floor, I did the same to him and he kissed me again sliding his tongue into my mouth, I moaned as he worked on taking off my pants moving his mouth from mine down my jaw to my neck kissing and biting at it then moved down to my breasts kissing the tops of them while squeezing them

"Oh Spence" I moaned and he moved down to my stomach running his hands up my sides then came back up to my mouth. I moved my hands down and undid his pj pants then slid them down then he did the same to me, he positioned himself between my legs propping one of them on his arm and pushed into me then started moving his hips going slow at first but then picked up the pace, I squeezed my eyes shut and bit my lip as he started kissing my neck.

"Oh Liz" He moaned picking up the pace and I gripped my hands into my pillow as he held onto one of them as well.

"Oh god! OHH!" I moaned as I hit my peak again and after a few more thrusts and grunts Spencer finished as well. I laid down and he laid down next to me, we were both panting pretty hard trying to catch our breath and he pulled me to him, "Well I do believe you are gonna be the death of me Dr. Reid." I giggled and he pulled me into a deep kiss.

"Hmm I can't help it, my wife is just so amazing." He says and kissed me again passionately

"Slow down tiger, I don't really have strength for another round." I smirked then gave him a light kiss before we cuddled up to each other and fell asleep.

* * *

We all waited in the round room the next day to welcome Morgan back after a 6 month leave, the door opened revealing Rossi and Morgan, "Surprise!" We all cheered

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, no, you didn't." Morgan tells us and Spencer wrapped his arm around my waist

"Not my idea, babe. I was outnumbered." Savannah defended

"How long has this been in the works?" Morgan asked walking over to her

"Oh, two weeks. You didn't suspect?"

"I, uh, had no idea." Morgan says

"That's good. A certain amount of cluelessness is nice in a husband." Garcia said and I giggled looking at Spencer

"Ok, hush up." Morgan tells her

"Amen to that. A woman is entitled to her secrets, especially from a profiler." Tara pointed out

"Well, this profiler may not be changing any diapers, but I will tear up some diaper cake." Morgan says

"Oh, you look like a diaper changer to me." I mentioned

"Yes, you will be changing some diapers." Savannah argues

"Ladies, I was joking, I was joking. Look, baby, I was joking. It was a joke." Morgan defended kissing her and I walked out to go drag Aaron out of his office, I got to the door and knocked before heading in.

"Hey, I have been sent to commandeer you. The party's in high gear." I tell him and he looked at me

"There's been a double homicide and a child abduction in Wichita." He told me and I looked back at the round room

"Uh, I'll go let the others know." I started to walk out

"Elizabeth," Aaron says stopping me, "Give them 10 minutes. There's time while the plane's being readied."

"Okay."

"How's it going? With having two children now?" He asked

"Oh, tiring, sometimes when I get Haley back to sleep after she wakes up Alexander wakes up and vise versa." I said and he nodded, "I know a visit from Uncle Aaron and Cousin Jack would make their day." I suggested and he chuckled.

"After we finish this case, we'll stop by."

"I'll hold you to that." I smiled and left his office.

* * *

"Thank you." Aaron hung up his phone and walked over to the rest of us, "Ronnie Brewer is still missing. Both parents' eyes were filled with sand and glued shut."

"Mr. Sandman, bring me a nightmare." Rossi says sitting down

"This is a well organized unsub. He managed to kill both parents, perform a complicated ritual, and successfully abduct the boy." JJ points out

"JJ's right. It's a lot of moving parts for one person to orchestrate. Could we be looking at a team?" Morgan asked

"This is reminiscent of the killing of the Clutter family in 1959, also in Kansas. That crime was perpetrated by two ex-cons working together." Spencer says

"The "In Cold Blood" murders. But that was a robbery gone bad. It doesn't seem to be the case here." Rossi adds

"Well, assuming Ronnie Brewer was the ultimate target, why risk entering the home at all? I mean, wouldn't it be simpler just to grab the kid on the way to school?" Tara asked

"Well, the abduction of the child from a place of presumed safety must be an essential part of his ritual." Aaron replied

"Who knows? Maybe the killer had a score to settle with mom and dad, too."

"The sealing of the eyes could indicate remorse. He didn't want them to see what he was doing to their kid." I point out

"Then why not just kill them immediately? I mean, he must have a reason for rendering the parents functionally blind first." Morgan says

"You know, the sand in the eyes could be a purely symbolic gesture. The Sandman was a mythical character who would sprinkle magic dust in the eyes of children while they slept." Spencer mentioned

"Yeah, but I thought he was a benevolent figure, a bringer of good dreams." Tara tells him

"Not always. In one version of the myth, he would actually pop the eyeballs out of kids to use as food for his own offspring."

"Jeez. I stand corrected." Tara says

"All right, when we land, Dave, you and JJ go to the crime scene. Reid, Elizabeth and Lewis to the M.E., and Morgan and I will get set up at the precinct." Aaron told us

* * *

"Good to see you again, Dr. Reid, Agent Hotchner." The M.E says to us as we walk in

"It's um Agent Reid now." I corrected with a smile and he looked between me and Spencer

"Oh well congratulations."

"Nice to see you." Spencer says to him

"Again?" Tara asked

"Yeah. We had a case here 4 years ago." Spencer tells her

"The tornado guy. That was one for the books." The M.E says

"So do we have a C.O.D. on the victims?" I asked him

"Mr. Brewer's was massive blood loss from a severed trachea, most likely a thin-bladed serrated knife."

"And Mrs. Brewer?" Tara asked and we walked over to the body

"Her skull was fractured. Some type of blunt-force trauma."

"It's highly unusual for a killer to use different weapons on different victims." Spencer pointed out

"Speaking of unusual, take a look." The M.E indicated to a microscope, "Corneal tissue samples from the eyes of each victim. Mr. Brewer's on the left and Mrs. Brewer's on the right." He says and Spencer bends to look

"Mrs. Brewer's has many more macrophages."

"That's right. It's a natural immunological response to a foreign substance." The M.E pointed out as I take a look after Tara did

"Huh. The white blood cells in Mr. Brewer's sample are completely normal." I mention

"Plain English-his eyes didn't react to the glue." The M.E says

"Plainer English- he was already dead when it happened." Tara added

* * *

"Unfortunately, all of the blood at the Brewer crime scene was either from Lyla or Jim Brewer. Nothing from the unsub." Tara tells me and Spencer as we walk through the Sheriffs office

"I just talked to the M.E. Ronnie Brewer died from asphyxiation but had not been sexually assaulted." Spencer pointed out and I feel my stomach twist in disgust, having kids and working on cases that involved them is the toughest thing to do

"Unless strangling the boy was the sexual release. Or it could have been the unsub's first abduction and he panicked, disposed of the child immediately once he had him." Tara adds

"The M.E. also said that the type of glue in the Brewers' eyes is frequently used for surgical closures, so the drying process on the skin is well documented. Apparently it had been applied at 5:15 am."

"Well, the farm hand said they saw that gray sedan flee the scene at 6:20, so if that was our unsub, what was he doing in the house for that hour?" I asked

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"The glue our unsub used is sold practically everywhere, so we can't isolate point of purchase. A mineral analysis from the sand, however, indicates that it came from the Seneca River in upstate New York." I say to Morgan looking over at him seeing he was lost in thought, "You ok?"

"Yeah."

"Morgan, we're gonna find the people who tried to kill you." I said to him sitting down assuming that's why he was lost in thought

"He was in his pajamas. Ronnie Brewer. Out there by the side of the road, he was still in his pajamas. I'm sorry, kid, I, uh, I don't know, man. 6 months on the sidelines. I guess I still have a few blisters where I used to have calluses."

"I don't think that's what this is." I tell him

"Oh, no? Then what is it?"

"You're about to be a dad. You know? You have to expect the world to start to feel different, I know I did."

"It just feels so hard. Not as in difficult. Literally hard. Like asphalt is hard. Like pavement."

"And children are soft." I add

"Yeah. Defenseless."

"That's why every day we try to make this world a little safer, not just for our own kids but for all of them out there." I tell him, "If there's one thing I'm sure of, is that you and Savannah are going to be great parents." I finished with a smile

"Charge by the hour, Doc?" He asked and we chuckled, "How is it having two children now?" He asked me

"It's good, but also stressful, we get through it day by day and she has been a rock star the whole time. I help her of course, she shouldn't be the one having to take care of three people, just two." I said with a smile

"Well look at that, my boy's all grown up." He pats me on the shoulder and I gave a light laugh.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"We're looking for a family annihilator. We believe he's a white male in his early to mid-30s. He is intelligent, well organized, and meticulous." Aaron informs the department

"Family annihilators are often quick and ruthless, but this unsub prolongs the suffering of his victims." Rossi adds

"He appears to kill in stages. First the father, then the mother, and finally the child." Tara says

"The mother seems to be the primary target of the unsub's rage. She is forced to endure a sense of helplessness for upwards of an hour while her child is in danger." Morgan mentioned

"So we're dealing with a sadist?" The Sheriff asked us

"Yes, but not sadism as we typically think of it. Despite the savagery of the attacks, the killer does not derive gratification from inflicting pain. It's from observing the panic in his victims. The sadism is psychological." Spencer replied

"Something may have happened in the unsub's childhood where he felt unprotected. Perhaps his own mother turned a blind eye to a real or perceived danger." I added

"And this could explain the ritual of placing sand and glue in the parents' eyes, symbolically blinding them as punishment." Aaron says

"Ellie Zumwalt survived her injuries, and this may discourage this unsub and make him more cautious." Tara said

"Or have the opposite effect. It could infuriate him and spur him to attack again soon, with increased violence." Rossi tells them

"Residents in remote or rural areas and families with an only child should exercise extreme caution in the coming days. Thank you." Aaron finished

* * *

"What you got, baby girl?" Morgan asked her

 _"What I've got is fail, fail, and more fail."_

"Remember Thomas Alva Edison, Penelope. 'I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.'" Rossi tells her

 _"Ok, let me rephrase what I just said. I'm currently waist-deep in what is not working. Despite the distinctive craftsmanship, I cannot figure out who made these hourglasses, and I haven't been able to find a single person who recently relocated from upstate New York to Wichita."_

"Something must connect our unsub to the Seneca River. All the sand in the world right here and this guy brings dirt from 1,500 miles away." I said

"Garcia, you confirmed that the hourglasses were handcrafted?" Morgan asked her

 _"Oh, for sure. We're talking topnotch museum quality, but not by any artisan known in the high-end glass-blowing community, and yes, there is such a thing as the high-end glass-blowing community."_

"All right, look for boys ages 8 to 12 who were sexually victimized and/or abducted in upstate New York in the mid-1990s, all right?" Morgan asks her

 _"Ok. Hit you back if and when."_

"They're analyzing the sand from both hourglasses now to see if it matches what was put in the victims' eyes. So far no prints or DNA." Spencer informed us walking into the room

"The unsub's careful." I said

"And precise. I calculated the width of hourglass necks with the average grain of sand having a .2-millimeter diameter and a volume of .0042 cubic millimeters. Given the weight of the sand, that's a gravity flow duration of 3,600 seconds. You know, obviously give or take a few." Spencer says and I smile shaking my head

"Skill level off the charts, yet his work is unknown. Not for sale, not even for display. This guy operates in a vacuum." Morgan pointed out

"Which speaks to the intensely private nature of his obsession." Rossi adds

"Mineral analysis just came in on the hourglass sand." The Deputy tells us walking in

"Also from upstate New York?" I asked her

"No, it's local. Most likely from the Platte River." She says and stopped

"What's the matter, Sergeant?" Morgan asked her

"It's what they found next to him in the sand." She handed Rossi the file

"Human bone and tooth enamel."

* * *

"I wonder what the unsub meant by eleven." Rossi says walking over to the board

"We know he measures the time spent in each house. It could be some sort of countdown." Morgan mentioned

"What are you thinking, Aaron?" I asked him as he walked over to the board

"The hospital report on Ellie Zumwalt. Her injuries were minor. It was the gradual loss of blood that caused her to lose consciousness."

"Well, the unsub must have thought she bled out and left her for dead. That was his big mistake." Rossi said

"I don't think there was a mistake." Aaron pointed out

"What do you mean?" Morgan asked him

"What if Ellie Zumwalt was never meant to die, that the mistake that the unsub made was actually at the first crime scene?"

"The Brewer murders? The guy's a family annihilator. He killed them all. To me that sounds like mission accomplished." I said to him

"We didn't understand why he used two different murder weapons on Jim and Lyla Brewer. That's because there never was a second weapon."

"I'm still not following." Morgan tells him

"Dave, you said that a large piece of furniture was moved to block the top of the stairs at the Brewer house." Aaron mentioned

"That's right. JJ and I assumed it was to prevent her from escaping."

"I don't think so. It wasn't to set her up for the kill. It was to keep her from falling down the stairs and killing herself." Aaron points out

"So her skull fracture was what, an accident?" I asked

"The victim was blinded, hardwood floors slippery with blood. She could have fallen and hit her head on a blunt object." Rossi says

"That means the unsub's plan all along was for both mothers to survive." Morgan said

"Exactly."

"But why?" I asked

"That's what we need to figure out. Josie's fate depends on it." Aaron answered

* * *

"What do you got, Garcia?" Tara asked her

 _"What I have got is Betty Cordray of Wichita, Kansas, which I know makes no sense, but actually, Betty Cordray is not Betty Cordray, she's Betty Sorenson of long-lost fame."_

"The mother who abandoned Patrick." I point out

 _"None other."_

"Is she still in the area?" Aaron asked her

 _"No. She died 6 weeks ago of kidney failure, and then when the paperwork started, you know, the paperwork that happens when you die, her real identity was revealed and Patrick was called as her next of kin."_

"That must have been the trigger. That's when he dropped off the map in New York." Aaron brought up

"Yeah, and if he was holding out hope for answers from that mother one day, that hope was suddenly gone."

"Garcia, did Betty Sorenson own any property in the Wichita area?" I asked

 _"Nope, she lived in a studio apartment."_

"Then after she died, was she buried or cremated?" Aaron asked

 _"Uh...Neither. She was held in the morgue, Patrick was called to identify her body, but he never showed up. I guess she's still there?"_

"All right, I'll check it out." Tara says and left

* * *

"Garcia, were you able to trace it?" Aaron asked her

 _"No. I was so close. But I have the cell tower it pinged off of. I just sent that to your phones."_ She says and we look at the map

"What's this area like, Sergeant?" Morgan asked

"Mostly blue-collar residential."

"What about that area? It looks pretty secluded." I point out

"That's where the old railroad spur line used to come into town. Mostly just abandoned structures out there now."

"We're on it." Rossi says and me, him and Morgan head out

* * *

"There." Rossi says and Morgan stops, "Gray sedan. New York plates."

We get inside and just as Morgan picked Josie up the other door opens revealing Patrick, "Time's up Patrick, drop the weapon." I warn him and he looks past me then moved forward raising the hammer but I quickly fired my gun twice killing him as he landed into the shelf of hourglasses.

* * *

Once me and Spencer get home we walk in and see Amanda asleep on the couch with Alexander snuggled up to her and Haley in the bassinet next to them, I looked at Spencer and smiled then walked over and turned off the TV while Spencer carefully picked up our son and brought him to his room.

"Amanda," I whisper waking her up, "Hey, we're home."

She stretched and sat up, "Hi, they were both angels."

"Thank you again, I'm sorry if it's to stressful."

"No, not at all I love watching both of them. Anytime you need." She says standing up and I hug her

"You're amazing."

She giggled and just picked up her bag when Spencer walked in, "Garcia called, Hotch needs us Savannah was shot."

"What?"

"You two go I can stay." Amanda tells me and I look at her.

"Are you sure? You were already here for 2 days, you're tired..."

"I'm fine I promise, Alexander is asleep so I just need to focus on Haley when she wakes up." She told me and I nodded grabbing my purse.

"If you need anything call, we won't be that far away and please don't sleep on the couch feel free to rest in the guest room. You can bring the bassinet in there."

"I will. Good luck." She says and we rush out of the house then head to the hospital.

 **A/N: Thank you so so much to everyone for loving this story it means a lot. I just checked all my other ones and I see that this one has more views and more reviews then all the other and that is just...wow, amazing thank you. I also had a question for fellow writers out there, I have seen on some peoples profiles about their stories being like winner of best whatever category they put, how does that happen?**

 **Any ways thank you all again so much I love that you guys love this.**


	49. Chapter 49

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"We need all vehicular and pedestrian traffic stopped in a 10-block radius." Aaron tells one of the officers as we arrive.

"Hey, where you going?"

"Hey, let me through, that's my team over there!" I hear Morgan yell and we look over seeing him argue with a cop, "Get your hands off me. I'm FBI."

"Hey, hey, he's an Agent. Let him through." JJ says to the cop and Morgan walked over

"What the hell is wrong with them? Don't they know we're on this case?"

"Yes, he knows. He just didn't know who you are. It's ok." Garcia told him

"Tell me you got something."

"A casing and a rifle up on the roof." Rossi informed

"This guy isn't sloppy. He's sending us a message." I added

"Garcia, we need to access the surveillance footage." Aaron told her

"Of course. I'm on it." She says and walked away

"What else we got?" Morgan asked us

"That's it right now." Rossi says

"Where were you and Savannah standing?" Spencer asked him

"We were standing right over there on the side of my truck. We were just talking. She was to the back and I was facing her. I was the one who was vulnerable. I was the easy shot."

"How's Savannah?" I asked

"She's in surgery."

"Come on, let's check in." Rossi says and looked at me then we both walk over to Morgan

"You guys got this?" He asked Aaron

"Go."

* * *

"Metro PD's gonna secure all the windows and have an officer placed in front of Savannah's room 24/7." Roosi tells him as we walked into a waiting room

"Thanks."

"I got us a conference room down the hall to work in, and I'm getting access to the security cams right now." Garcia tells us walking in

"Great. You three need coffee?" Rossi asked

"I'm good." Morgan answered

"No. Thanks." Garcia says

"I do, I'll come with." I said to him and we walked out

"How are you doing?" Rossi asked me as we walked down the hall

"Just worried about Savannah and the baby."

"We all are." He says and we keep walking

* * *

"So if security footage has no angles of the shooting or the rooftop, where does that leave us?" Rossi asked me, Spencer, JJ and Garcia as we stand in the waiting room

"We're running facial recognition on everyone in and around the hospital to see if they match any loose ends from Morgan's abduction." JJ answered when Aaron walked in

"How did he take it?" Spencer asked him

"As expected."

"Sir, I know that when Morgan was on leave after his abduction, you encouraged him to stay away from the case." Garcia says

"And let me guess- he didn't." I point out

"We all knew in our hearts it wasn't over, and, look, we were right, so in an extra-curricular kind of way we kept sleuthing to see who was working with John Bradley." She says

"Before he came back to work, Morgan said that he'd found a connection between the men who held him at the cabin and the Montolo family." Aaron mentions

"Right. So, basically, we're dealing with a big crime family tree, of which Bradley was certainly a branch. And the Montolos had hired him multiple times." Garcia adds

"Did you scan the drawing?" Spencer asked her and we look at her laptop

"Yeah, it's right here."

"So, has everyone been working on this?" Rossi asked us

"Yeah, basically."

"Kinda." Garcia and Spencer answer at the same time

"Ok, with Morgan's research, plus our bad guys/gals tree here, we've cut all the legs off the evil table. So like look- you got assassin, mother, father, siblings, all deceased, one aunt in therapy for family trauma, and each line is like that." Garcia points out on her computer

"Montolo's line's the shortest of them all. The only living child of Chazz and Rosemary Montolo. Rosemary died when Giuseppe was just a boy." Spencer says

"Right. And then Giuseppe went to live with his family in Italy, and Chazz went off to build a criminal empire."

"Looks like Chazz Montolo was killed last year." Rossi pointed out

"Yeah, in a bank fire in Germany. Got positive I.D. On the dental and fingerprints."

"One week after his son was murdered. What if that's not a coincidence?" I ask out loud

"So whoever poisoned the son also killed the father." JJ said

"Or he staged his own death so we wouldn't suspect him of this." I tell her

"Hey, wait, wait, wait. I only ran facial recognition on living people for obvious reasons, but this guy right here, walking out of the hospital, this guy, that is..." Garcia pulls a photo out of the file holding it up to her computer, "That's Chazz Montolo."

"Garcia, play the footage." Aaron tells her and we watch as the guy continued walking out of the hospital, "All right. Garcia, contact the city, get access to traffic cameras. Now that we know he's here, we can find out where he went." He adds and her phone rings

"Oh, wait, Morgan's calling me. I told him I'd keep him in the know before I knew it was an order that he wasn't supposed to know."

"All right. Reid and Elizabeth you both talk to Morgan. JJ, you and Garcia track Montolo, find out who his accomplices are. He doesn't work alone. Dave, you and I will find potential witnesses who might have seen him on the property." Aaron tells us

* * *

"Were you with Garcia?" Morgan asked me and Spencer as we walked into the room he was in

"Yeah. Here, I brought you a green tea. It won't make you as jittery as coffee." Spencer tells him handing the cup to Morgan

"You came instead of Garcia because you know I'd be able to read her." Morgan pointed out

"That is correct." Spencer says

"And Hotch sent you here to see if I'm stable."

"He didn't say that, but..." Spencer says giving him a knowing look

"I don't get jittery." Morgan told him

"Usually you don't, but your carotid tells a different story. I've counted 10 heartbeats in the last 3 seconds. That's about 20% higher than your usual when you're under stress."

"I know you're only trying to protect me, I get it, but knock it off. I just want to know what you've learned." Morgan tells him and I sit on the arm of a chair.

"When you first told me about Savannah, I'd never seen you like that. The decreased levels of central serotonin in your brain cause intrusive thinking. When I finally saw you guys together, that's when I knew for sure. Your pupils dilated, your posture changed, and I saw you involuntarily reach for her hand. Science confirmed it. You've found the one." Spencer points out to him then looked at me and reached for my hand holding it, "Do you believe that?" He asked Morgan

"Yes."

"Then believe this. Our team loves you, and we are not going to stop until we find whoever did this. But we can only do that with a completely dispassionate and unprejudiced point of view." I tell Morgan standing up

"Paternal instinct is a deadly bias that we just can't risk. It's for your protection, Morgan, I swear." Spencer adds

"Ok," I put my hand on Morgan's arm then me and Spencer start to leave, "The unsub is a father, isn't he?" Morgan asked us and we turn to face him

"Why do you say that?" Spencer asked him

"A paternal instinct is a deadly bias? Those were your exact words."

"I meant..." Spencer started to say

"I know what you meant. But that's what you said." Morgan tells him and walked past us, I looked at Spencer then he pulled me into a hug.

* * *

"Are you all right?" Aaron asked JJ after she put the note left by Chazz on the board

"I showed it to Morgan."

"What did he say?" He asked

"Same as us. It's a taunt." She replied

"That's all?"

"Mm-hmm. And I'm sorry. I thought it would help." She told him

"It's ok. Where are we with the motels and the SROs along the bus route?" Aaron asked

"Mostly cash transactions, faceless tenants." I tell him

"I'll get the Washington field office to canvass the area." Aaron says and left

"Why leave a note so seemingly on the nose when every other action has been calculated for maximum pain? It has to mean more than simply "I'm angry." It's a clue or a symbol. It means something to Morgan and I think Chazz knows that." Spencer points out

"Well, he wants to drive Morgan to exact revenge." JJ adds

"How do you think he's doing?" Rossi asked

"Well, after the physical and emotional stress of 6 months ago, and now this? The guy's a saint." I told him

"He passed his return evals."

"Yeah, but we wrote the questions. He knows exactly what to say." Spencer says

* * *

"Where's Agent Morgan?" The Doctor asked us walking into the room

"He said you were calling him." Aaron told her

"No."

"Well, then where is he? He wouldn't just go off on his own." Garcia says

"Garcia, pull up security footage of the emergency entrance." Aaron told her and we see Morgan walking out of the hospital then rushed off, "Let's go." Aaron says then me, him, Rossi and JJ rushed out of the room and headed down a flight of stairs exiting the hospital. We didn't see Morgan's truck so Aaron grabbed his phone and called him.

* * *

"He's gone." Aaron tells Garcia when we walked back into the room

"GPS has him heading north about a mile away from the hospital and then he stops. Why would he stop?"

"He got rid of his phone." Aaron said

"No. No, no, no. That guy's trying to kill him. He's walking into a trap." Garcia says and I put my hand on her shoulder and she holds it.

* * *

"Morgan was headed north when we lost him. There are 3 highways in that direction. He could have gone anywhere." Tara pointed out

"Except Montolo never left the city. Garcia, pull up that footage of him at the bus stop." Spencer tells her walking over to her

"Red line. Red line. He sees red." Garcia exclaimed

"But he never gets on. See, he moves right past it." Spencer told her

"So, "I see red." what the hell does that mean?" I asked

* * *

"Morgan never calls me Aaron. Why would he start?" Aaron asked

"What else did he say?" JJ asked him

"That of all people, I should understand."

"He was talking about Foyet." I point out

"Yes. But he mentioned that earlier. Why would he bring it up again?" Aaron asked

"He wanted you to relate to his rage and back off?" Rossi suggested

"Is there any other relevance to Foyet?" Tara asked Aaron

"He attacked in my home." Aaron says and I tensed a little but Spencer put his hand on my back and I relaxed, "Maybe Morgan subconsciously let that slip."

"Yeah, but Morgan's house isn't red." I brought up

"Yeah, but he's renovated a lot of houses over the years. What if it's one of those?" Spencer asked

* * *

"Wow. Morgan was busy. He has 8 properties. He started renovating in 2001 right after 9-11." Garcia says

"I remember him saying he didn't know what else to do with his frustration. He thought tearing down walls would be a good start." JJ adds

"He wanted to restore them so he could control something." Spencer said

"Could Montolo know about these houses?" Tara asked

"It's public record, so probably. Uh, let's see." Garcia says and searched on her computer, "Morgan uses a service to rent out the properties. Here's one that's been rented for a while to a...C.R. Joseph."

"JC.R. Joseph, C.R. Joseph, C.R..." Spencer whispers to himself, "Guys, Joseph is the English translation of Giuseppe. What if "C" stands for Chazz and "R" for Rosemary?" Spencer asked

"Do you have an image of the property?" Rossi asked her

"I can find one." Garcia says and we see a house with a red door

"Let's go." Aaron told us and we left

"Address on your phones."

* * *

"Go ahead, Garcia." Aaron tells her as we headed to where Morgan was

 _"I've got Morgan."_

 _"Are you all there? Are you all right?"_ He asked us

"Yeah, we're here."

 _"He's got a gun with two bullets. Listen to me. I made a decision tonight that led me to this,"_ He says and I started to bite my nail but Spencer stopped me, _"This is my fault, you understand? No one else's. And if this is how it ends... It was meant to be."_

 _"Don't say that."_ Garcia tells him

 _"Promise me you'll look after Savannah and my baby."_

 _"Of course we will, but so will you."_ Garcia tells him and there was a pause then we hear a gunshot and I feel my heart stop, _"Ohh! Derek? Derek?"_

* * *

We arrive at the house in time to see Derek putting his gun down and Aaron walked over to Chazz cuffing him then brought him out of the house.

* * *

"It's a boy!" Morgan tells us walking over and we all cheer and hug him.

* * *

"Hey." I said walking into the bullpen seeing Morgan sitting at his desk, "I wasn't expecting to see you here. But since you are... I got a little something for you and the family." I tell him walking over to my desk and pulled out a wrapped gift handing it to him, he unwrapped it and leaned back on his desk looking at the picture of all of us at the hospital standing with him and Savannah after she gave birth.

"Oh, wow."

"You're gonna have a lot of babysitters." I tell him and we both laugh

"Thank you."

"We'll always be here for you, ok?" I tell him and he nodded

"You know, me and Savannah talked about it, and we would like you to be Hank's god mother." He tells me and I smile trying to hold back tears

"Really?" I asked him and he smiled as well nodding his head, "I would be so honored." I said and we hugged.

"Of course you'll have to share the responsibility with Garcia."

"I think I can handle sharing." I laughed, "It's gonna be so different without you here. I mean, who's gonna take over kicking the doors in?" I asked with a smirk

"Oh come on now, you've gotten pretty tough since I first met you. Not Derek Morgan tough but..."

"Oh, wow look at the time." I joked looking at my watch and he lightly pushed me.

"I wanna say thank you."

"For what?" I asked him

"Making my boy happy."

I smiled, "Well he makes it easy." I tell him and he hugged me again

"I'm gonna miss you."

"Me too." I tell him and he looked at me

"Speaking of pretty boy..."

"He's in the round room." I tell him nodding my head in that direction and he nodded then headed that way.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"I know you hate goodbyes, kid." Morgan tells me as I stood there with my back facing the door, "And change." He says and I turn to face him, "Hey. It isn't always a bad thing."

"I just can't imagine this room without you." I tell him

"So don't. Don't think about it. Just know I'm always gonna be by your side. I'm just a phone call away. I'm sorry I can't stay."

"I don't want you to stay. Because I know why you're leaving and I couldn't be happier for you." I said

"Listen, we were gonna mail these, but I wanted you to have a birth announcement first." He tells me and handed me the picture

"Hank Spencer Morgan." I read out loud looking at it.

"Yeah. Hank is for my pops. But Spencer is for the best little brother anybody could ever ask for." He says and I smile holding back my tears then he pulled me into a hug, "I love you, kid."

"I love you." I reply and we pulled away

"So, look, uh, my little dude, he's gonna need a big brother, too. To teach him everything he knows about life. And chess." He says and I laugh

"I can do that."

"I know you can. I want you to see him." He tells me and pulled out his phone handing it to me, "Look at that."

"Oh, man."

"Mmm? I did good, huh?" He asked me

"Great. Oh, wow."

"Look at that face." He says.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Hey you." I said to Spencer when I walked into the round room before everyone else

"Hey."

"You okay?" I asked him and he shook his head, "Come here." I pulled him into a hug and he put his head on my shoulder, "I love you."

"I love you too."

I pulled away and looked at him, "So I guess I get to share the fairy godmother role with Garcia." I tell him and he smiled.

"That's great." He says with a smile, "But I think you both are gonna be sharing it with me as well." He told me and I giggled.

"Well now this kid will really be spoiled." I joked and he hugged me again then kissed me before the others walked in.


	50. Chapter 50

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"The thing is, you have to take the time or it just flies by." Tara says to Spencer as we get off the elevator

"I know."

"I've heard Alaskan cruises are pretty amazing." She tells him

"Mom has a phobia." Spencer says

"Of water or-"

"Cruise ships, specifically." He tells her

"Ok. But she's good to fly?" She asked

"Yeah."

"All right, so there's gotta be a place she's always mentioned she wanted to go. What's the first thing that pops into your head?" Tara asked and I thought about it

"Uh, it's Paris, actually." I answered and Spencer looked at me then smiled

"Wow. Done. Book that."

"You're right. Thank you." Spencer tells her and Garcia walked over

"If we're talking about vacations, guess where I'm going."

"Hmm. To visit Emily?" I asked

"Yes. How did you know that?"

"Because nothing else would make you this excited." I point out and we all laugh

"Have you ever been to London before?" Tara asked her

"Yes. One time, 4 years ago. It was work/play. This is gonna be all play. I am leaving all my phones at home." She says and we look at her, "You're right. That's not true. I'm going to bring them all, but I'm going to put them on airplane mode most of the time."

"Yeah. Baby steps." Tara says and I hear a tea kettle go off

"That's right, mate. Oh, I am putting the kettle on. Would anyone like a proper cup?" Garcia asked in a british voice

"Yeah." I answered

"Tea, which is a lot Dr. who, you guys. No big deal." She says and I smiled shaking my head.

* * *

 **Aaron POV...**

"You getting all packed up?" I asked Jack walking past him to the door after the bell rang

"Uh-huh."

"Good. We're running a little bit late, so..." I tell him opening the door

"Ok."

"Good morning." I greeted JJ and Henry

"Hi."

"Did you bring the comics?" Jack asked Henry as they walked in

"Yeah, the new one comes out today."

"We really appreciate you giving us a drive again." JJ says and I walk over to my wall safe

"Sure, absolutely. Anytime." I open the door and punch in the code grabbing out my gun and holstering it as JJ helps get the kids ready

"Ok, let's get you packed up. Let's grab your lunch. Right here. Alrighty. You got everything?" She asked Jack

"Yeah Yeah."

"No com-you're not gonna bring comics to school, all right?" She asked him then suddenly my door busts open and I draw my gun

"MPD!"

"I'm on the job." I tell the SWAT guy

"Drop your weapon."

"I'm Aaron Hotchner with the FBI." I said

"We know who you are. Lower your gun."

"Who sent you?" I asked him

"Hotch." JJ says and I look over at her holding Jack and Henry so I lowered my gun

"This is a mistake."

"Daddy, what's going on?" Jack asked me

"It's ok, Jack." I reassured him raising my hands

"On your knees. Hands behind your back."

"Is this really necessary?" I asked

"Now!"

"Daddy..." Jack cried as I got down following the orders

"It's ok, Jack. It's a big mistake and everything's gonna be all right. JJ will take you to your Aunt." I tell him and the SWAT guy cuffs me and I stand up then they walk me out

"Daddy..." I hear Jack cry as they walk with me, "Dad!"

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Where's Hotch being held?" Spencer asked as we stood in the round room and I was pacing a little

"I don't know yet. I have calls out." Rossi answered

"Metro SWAT took him in?" Tara asked him

"Yeah, but it has to be bigger than that."

"JJ's on her way here right now. She couldn't explain everything on the phone because she's with the kids." I mention

"Ok, maybe Hotch was swatted. That's an extreme prank that gamers pull on their opponents, where they fake a 911 call on them. It's recently escalated among celebrities." Garcia pointed out and Spencer put his hand on my shoulder to stop me from pacing

"If it was a prank, they wouldn't have arrested him." I tell her

"Unless they didn't know. If someone called 911 and said that Hotch is a threat, SWAT has to respond. Which means somewhere there's a record of that call." Spencer says

"Yeah, on it." Garcia sits down and begins working on her computer when I see JJ walk in with the kids and Will

"Hey guys!" Spencer tells them and Jack rushed over to me, I pulled him into a hug

"It's gonna be ok buddy." I reassured him rubbing his back and he just stayed quiet.

"Hi, Uncle Spencer." Henry says to him

"Oh, hello!" Spencer hugged him, "How are you doing, Henry?"

"Good. Everybody's gonna hang out at mom's work today."

"Oh, that sounds super fun." Garcia tells him

"Have you been practicing the magic trick I taught you, Jack?" Spencer asked him and I looked down at my nephew

"Can I go to my dad's office?" He asked

"Yeah, of course sweetie." I tell him and Will grabbed the baby from JJ

"Here. Come on, fellas, let's go find something to get into." Will tells them and they left the room.

"It's bad." JJ says

"How much did they see?" I asked her

"All of it. Which is why I figured this is the safest place to bring them."

"Just got word. He's downtown." Rossi tells us

"I'm going with you." I say to him

* * *

"Hey. That's the BAU unit chief. You've made a mistake." Rossi tells the guards that were escorting Aaron to a SUV

"Elizabeth, tell Jack I'm ok." Aaron tells me and they help him in the car

"Aaron, what's going on?" I asked him but the door shut and I notice the sticker on the side of the vehicle, I look at Rossi then watch as the car drove away with my brother in it and Rossi put his hand on my shoulder.

* * *

"He's being held by the DOJ, the Inspector General's office." Rossi tells the rest of the team as we walk into the round room

"That makes sense. It's the Internal Affairs of the parent agency of the Bureau. They probably heard what we heard." Tara says

"They should be defending him, not charging him." JJ pointed out

* * *

"With these 3 press conferences, we can prove to the Inspector General's office that Hotch's 911 call was spliced together." Spencer pointed out as we look at the board

"That's a good start, but they're not gonna listen to anything we have to say until we give them a viable suspect." Rossi mentioned

"Especially with explosives in play. They planted enough on Aaron to make it look like he was ready to blow up a city block." I said

"Ok, back to basics. Someone's framing Hotch. Who would want to?" Rossi asked

"He's put away a lot of people. We've seen the lengths that Chaz Montolo went to against Morgan for revenge. We shouldn't underestimate anything." Spencer says and I look in Aaron's office seeing Jack sitting there with the others.

"Not even Montolo could pull this off. This is multi-faceted, calculated for maximum disruption. Attacking Hotch in his home, separating him from us." JJ points out

"We should focus on unsubs that are sophisticated enough to carry of this coordinated of an attack. How are you doing with the cell spoofing technology?" Tara asked Garcia

"Ok, there's a few of them. If you were gonna go down and dirty, that would be Shadow Cell. There's other, higher-end apps- Spoof Me, the Storm, Gamercall-"

"Wait. What was that middle one, the Storm?" I asked her

"Yeah. Why?"

"That was Antonia's message to Aaron." I tell them

"There's a storm coming, and you'll be swept away." Spencer quotes

"I don't know about you, but this feels like a massive storm." JJ says

"It can't be a coincidence." Rossi adds

"Yeah, but there's no way she could have pulled this off from inside prison." Tara points out

"But she knew about it enough to toy with Hotch." Spencer says

"Anybody want to go slap that smirk off her face?" I asked

"Yeah, she's been pulling strings since we met her. She wanted the BAU's attention, but why?" JJ asks

"Narcissism." Tara replied

"We each spent time with her, a lot of it. But she didn't mention the storm until Aaron went back to question her again." I point out

"It was a retort, after Hotch exposed her past." Spencer says

"And her son." I mention and look back into Aaron's office, if this bitch is planning on hurting my family she has another thing coming.

* * *

I walk up to the door of the interrogation room that Antonia was sitting in and it buzzed, I opened it and walked in seeing her head resting on her arms, "You enjoying this?" I asked her

"I'm a creature of habit. I prefer we do this in my cell."

"If you really wanted the BAU to suffer, you wouldn't have warned us. You'd only warn us if there was something in it for you." I point out to her

"Oh, you really are smart."

"So it got me thinking. You're in here for life. What could you possibly gain?" I asked then held up the file and opened it, "Your son was born when you were only 14. Which would make him... 43 now? Your family was ashamed. So he was raised away from you. But you never lost touch with him."

"Have you always lived on the sappy side, or did that come out when you became a mother?" She asked me

"The only reason you warned Agent Hotchner about this storm is because your son had something to do with it. And now you need our help."

"Not as much as you need mine." She tells me

"Your son framed a federal agent and manipulated special weapons and tactics operatives to do it. So, here's the thing about SWAT. They don't like being manipulated. So now your son is on a shoot first, ask questions later list."

"I want him taken into custody, alive." She demanded

"Of course you do. What mother wouldn't? The truth is, I can't really promise you what will happen if he gets caught."

"You won't let him get killed. I know you. You took an oath and too goody-two-shoes to break it." She says

"Yeah, yesterday, yesterday I wouldn't have. But that was before your son had armed men point guns in the same room as my nephew and my friend's son, and you should consider yourself lucky that she's not here but unfortunately you're stuck with me." I told her leaning on the table, "So, when we find him, this can go one of two ways."

"Promise me he won't get hurt."

"Give me his name." I told her

* * *

"This is Antonia's son. His name's Asher Douglas. He lives in northern Virginia." I inform the others pointing at the screen in the round room

"Early 40s is old for a swatter." Spencer says

"But he's a match in every way that counts. He purchased the Storm spoofing software, he bought several audio splicing programs." Garcia points out

"And that's how he was able to make calls from Hotch's cell and sound like him." Tara adds

"Something about this doesn't fit." Spencer brought up

"It fits enough for me. Let's go." Rossi tells us and we get up walking out of the room

"Swatting can fall in the spectrum of online psychopathy. Men who express violent anti-social tendencies from behind a screen that the would never express in public. But their patterns mirror that of a traditional psychopath, and specifically the fact that they get bored easily. Which makes me think we'd see evidence of that in his browser history, but you didn't." Spencer said as we make our way to the elevator

"I thought he was covering his tracks." Garcia tells him

"Even if you're right, it doesn't change the fact that he made the 911 call. We have to arrest him. Aaron is depending on us." I say and Spencer puts his hand on my arm as we get into the elevator.

* * *

We get to the house and SWAT goes in first then we follow seeing Asher sitting there with his back to us, "Turn around show me your hands. Whatever you're holding, drop it." The SWAT guy tells him

"But then it will break."

"Drop it or I will shoot you." He demands and cocked his gun, "I said drop it!"

"Wait, hold! Everyone hold." Spencer tells us and I look at him, "Asher, if you show us what you're holding and it isn't dangerous, we'll let you keep it."

"Why would it be dangerous?" Asher asked him

"Because we're with the police and we have to be prepared for the worst."

"You're not the police. You're with the Federal Bureau of Investigations. You're Dr. Spencer Reid. You're supervisory Special Agent David Rossi. You're Agent Reid." He says looking at the three of us, "I researched all of you to decide who would be the best one to SWAT, before landing on Agent Aaron Hotchner, since he is the team leader, obviously."

"Can I see what's in your hands?" Spencer asked nicely and Asher held out his hands

"They're, um, my version of the A-9 chip, only mine are better."

"Can you set them down so we can talk?" Spencer asks

"Sure."

"I need to put these on you, ok? But it's for your own protection." Spencer tells him holding his cuffs

"Ok."

"There, let's go." Spencer says and helped Asher up giving him to the SWAt guy who walked him out of the room, "We should secure the house, but we're not gonna find anything else here. Best hope is to get him talking, but that could be tough." Spencer told me and Rossi

"Why?" I asked him

"Well, he displays both collecting behavior and unique dysgraphia traits in his handwriting. I'm pretty sure he's autistic."

* * *

"We're looking at a case of counterfeit deviance. If Asher is autistic, he has trouble reading social cues." Spencer informs us

"Yeah, but in this case we're dealing with somebody high-functioning." Tara pointed out

"What used to be labeled Asperger's syndrome."

"And that's where the counterfeit deviance comes in." I mention

"Documented examples include high-functioning autistics who collect child porn or pretend to plan a school shooting. They know that there's power in those images and those actions, but for them there's no paraphilia behind it. They don't derive pleasure from it. What I don't see is evidence of someone who's interested in explosives. We need to rule out-"

"That someone is pulling his strings just like he's been pulling ours." I said cutting Spencer off

"Exactly. I'd like to-"

"Go. Just do it. And hurry." Rossi tells him and Spencer walked out of the room

* * *

 _"If I can direct your attention to Rossi's phone, I will introduce you to Eric Rawdon. He has had multiple IRC chats with Asher until he was arrested for criminal conspiracy."_ Garcia tells us over the phone

"Conspiracy with who?" Rossi asked her

 _"Well, it looks like a bunch of anarchists. Rawdon isn't necessarily an anarchist himself, but he did want to make something go boom."_

"So he's charismatic, duplicitous. I mean, he'd have to be to persuade a bunch of anarchists to rally around him." Tara mentions

"What's the overlap with Aaron?" I asked her

"Our gone but not forgotten and soon to be recovered Sir Hotchner wrote up up a profile on Rawdon, which he defended in court."

"And this is revenge." Spencer points out

"No, we know it's bigger than that." Rossi says

"But there's no way Rawdon could have pulled this off while in prison. Garcia, what was the last contact Rawdon had with Asher?" JJ asked her

 _"Uh, emails from last week. The IP addresses are from all over the state, but none from Virginia super Max prison where Rawdon currently resides."_

"So someone else took over the account, or multiple someones depending on who's still supporting Rawdon." I said

 _"I'm gonna add "word" to the end of Tara's last sentiment, because whoever is sending these emails has gone hog wild over the last 12 hours, and the message is always the same- "the storm breaks tonight. Get his bed ready.'"_

"That's reminiscent of the emails the 911 hijackers sent to each other, weeks before the attack. Coded messages like, "this summer will surely be hot." It was their way of saying the plan is set." Spencer adds

"Except this is 'the storm breaks tonight.'" Rossi says and it hits me

"He's planning a prison break." I concluded and we all share a look

* * *

 _"That's affirmative, Agent Rossi. The riot just started here in VA Max."_ The warden tells him as we head to the prison

"Focus all your efforts on finding Rawdon. We need him alive."

"Has anyone escaped?" Spencer asked him

 _"We don't know. We're still trying to secure the prison."_

"Ok, warden, we're 5 minutes out." Rossi tells him and hangs up

"Guys, the swatting, the reference to Asher- this is exactly the larger plan we profiled." Tara points out

"It worked. Rawdon has another group he's been working from the inside. By the time we clear Aaron, they'll be gone." I add

* * *

"SSA Rossi."

"Warden Nabb. Your call came in, it's too late, Agent." He tells us

"Have you located Eric Rawdon?" Spencer asked him

"Not yet. The rioters still control 3 blocks, and the fires inside have spread us thin."

"Warden, this isn't a riot. It's a break." I tell him

"They'll never get over the wall."

"They may have some other way out. Every part of this plan has been meticulously crafted." JJ says

"We got a distress call that some of the prisoners got to the gun safe." The warden told us

"First priority is to secure the control room." The SWAT guy said and we head inside

* * *

"Got one!" SWAT says and we see a man sitting in a cell as Tara raised her gun up at him

"Where are the others? How are they getting out?" She asked him and he looked at her

"Shh"

"Freeze!" JJ says and I look to see a prisoner run back down the hall then we follow. When we come around the corner he raised his gun but the SWAT guy shot him and we moved forward

"Shh!" JJ says as she crouched by the prisoner, "You got a flashlight?" She asked him then she crawled into the cell and looked under the bed, "Captain, we got a tunnel."

"Rossi, we got a tunnel in C-block along the sewer line on the east wall." Tara says into her radio

 _"Copy, Tara. We're on our way."_

* * *

"Including Rawdon?" Tara asked over the radio

"Kershaw and Bring, you stay here in case more prisoners come back through. We should keep moving to the control room." The captain told us

"We should also sweep E-block. Rawdon could be holed up there." Spencer adds

"Captain, I'll stay on your six." Tara told him

"Me too" I said as well and Spencer looked at me, "I'll be fine."

"Fine by me. Just watch your front sight." The Captain told us and we moved forward and I feel Spencer grab my hand giving it a squeeze then walked away from us.

 _"Captain."_ The Warden called over the radio as we enter another room of the prison.

"Go ahead."

 _"Just got a sit rep. The prisoners have the control room."_ He tells him

"Copy that. It's gonna get hairy in there. They're not gonna give it up without a fight. I need you two to stay here." The Captain told us

"Copy that. We'll wait for your signal." I replied and they headed towards the control center

* * *

"Captain, do you copy?" Tara asked over her radio after we hear a gun shot, "Captain?"

"Dr. Lewis?" I hear someone ask and we look over at a cell

"Ennis?"

"Huh. I thought that was you." He told her and we walked over to his cell

"What are you doing here?"

"You should know. They sent me here right after you finished interviewing me. I don't appreciate my words being used against me, Tara." He says to her

"Ennis, I had nothing to do with-"

"Then why was I transferred?" He asked with anger cutting her off, "It must have been that they read what you wrote in the report about me and assumed that I was like... Them." He says looking around the room

"Who's "them," Ennis?" She asked him

"The worst of the worst. Don't you know where you are?" He asked and I looked around the room

"This is the serial killer wing." I point out as it hits me feeling my insides twist

* * *

As we stood there his door suddenly buzzed open then both me and Tara raised our guns to him, "Ennis, don't." Tara warned him

"I've dreamed of this, Tara. Dreamed of it."

"I will shoot you. I mean it." She says to him

"There's only one problem. You can't take us all." He points out and I turn around seeing the other serial killers come out

"JJ, Spencer, backup, now!" I said into my radio then shoot one of them in the leg

 _"On our way."_ JJ responded

"Backup's not coming." He tells us

"Don't do this, Ennis, please." She begged him

"Are you trying to beg your way out of this?"

"I'm trying to save your life. Look behind you." She tells him and he turned to look just as Aaron and more SWAT guys came in, a few prisoners tried to run but got shot down and one came at me but I shot him as the others surrendered

"Well now that's timing." I told Aaron then we hear gunshots from the other direction.

"That's Reid and JJ." Tara told him and we move down the hall to them and Aaron shoots a prisoner in a SWAT suit then something falls to the ground

"Flash bang!" Aaron yelled and moved to back and ducked as it went off then we went into E block and Aaron walked up to the prisoner, "Where's the bomb?" He asked

"You'll never stop it in time. Boom."

"Last time you were going to assemble them in one of 3 locations, and you're too compulsive to deviate. Arlington, but they're looking for you there. Appomattox county is too far away. They're at the Ivory Tower." Aaron points out taking his phone out

"What? That's not true!"

"What's the Ivory Tower?" Tara asked

"A safe house for fundamentalist groups." JJ told her

"Garcia, we got a location. I need you to give it to all available SWAT resources." Aaron says

* * *

We arrive just in time to see them loading things up in a helicopter, we get out and take cover behind the car doors as they began shooting at us which we returned. After taking out everyone but the ones who surrendered the helicopter takes off and we start shooting at it then it explodes and falls back down.

* * *

"And there they are." Rossi greets as he opened the door, I stood there with Haley as Spencer held Alexander with Tara next to us, "Please, come in. Spence, Elizabeth, Tara, this is Hayden Montgomery." Rossi introduced and Tara shakes her hand then says something in French

"Vous parlez francais tres bien, madame." Hayden responded, "She's my favorite so far." She tells Rossi and looked at me, "Your children are beautiful." She tells us

"Thank you." I smiled

"They get it from her." Spencer says and I roll my eyes.

"This way." Rossi gestured to us

* * *

"Keep your eyes on him. He's very sneaky with his cards." Garcia tells Jack, Henry and Alexander as they watched Spence do a magic trick

"There's nothing sneaky about it. It is merely magic. I need you to blow on this card, please." He says to Henry, "You blow." To Jack, "Now you." To Alexander, "And this is your card." He tells Jack

"No."

"That's not your card?" Spencer asked and I smiled, "Wait. Hold on. Ok. This is your card." He holds up another one

"No."

"Are you serious? That's not your card?" He asked, "Hold on. Oh..." He looked at Garcia and reached behind her ear, "Is that your card?" He asked holding on up and Alexander giggled.

"Ohh! How did you do that?!" Garcia asked him

"I had a hard time putting both boys down last night." JJ told me and Aaron

"They couldn't sleep?" He asked her

"Other way around. I didn't want to leave them."

"I know how you feel." I agreed and looked at both of my children

"How are things on your end?" JJ asked Aaron

"You know, fortunately Jack doesn't remember a lot about Haley's death. He knows the story, but he was young."

"That's a good thing." I tell him

"That's a very good thing. But he's not going to forget seeing me at gunpoint. I just don't want this job to take anything else away from him."

"Well, maybe it gives him something, too. You're his hero. Not a pretend hero, a real hero." I say to him and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder

"You're his hero too." He tells me and I smile at my nephew, "Well, he's growing up. He's not going to feel that way for too much longer."

"Nah, you can worry about that later. Just be his dad. Enjoy that." JJ reassured him

"Wait. Wait, don't move. Oh, no." We hear Spencer say and looked over at him moving to Garcia

"What? What?"

"Oh, my God, you have something in your hair!" He says pulling a string of ribbons out

They all start laughing, "Holy guacamole!"

"Elizabeth can I talk to you." Aaron says to me and I nodded then looked at JJ

"I got her." She indicates to my daughter sleeping in her car seat.

"What's up?" I asked him as we walked away from the others.

"I had a meeting with the board yesterday and we talked about a few things. One of them is that I suggested you for the communications leason for the unit." He told me and I looked at him shocked

"But what about..."

"You and Garcia will work together on it. If you accept." He says and I chuckled

"What's the pay?" I joked and he smiled shaking his head, "I would greatly accept the position thank you." I tell him and he hugged me then we headed back over to the others and sat around laughing and eating until Aaron and Garcia's phone went off then we all stood up and walked away

"What is it now?" Tara asked

"3 more prison breaks in 3 different states, all organized by Rawdon's partners from his last bombing attempt." Aaron tells us

"The local field office got a head start because of what we did. They stopped the bomb threat, but-"

"Who didn't they catch?" Rossi asked cutting Garcia off

"All have serial killer wings just like VA Max." Aaron informed

"Let me guess. They were released first to cause maximum chaos and occupy law enforcement." Tara mentioned

"A lot of them were killed or recaptured, but not all of them." Garcia says

"How many got away?" I asked her

"As of right now, 13 serial killers, one of which is Peter Lewis." she says and I look at Aaron feeling my heart sank

"Mr. Scratch." I said and Spencer put his arm around my shoulder

"That's why he testified against you. He was part of their plan all along." Spencer pointed out

"So we have to catch him again, along with 12 other murderers." Aaron adds


	51. Chapter 51

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Chief, how much do you know about Daniel James Cullen?" Tara asked him as we walked through the hospital

"You mean the Crimson King? I know he liked to cut words into his victims' bodies. 3 years ago your Phoenix field office arrested him. That's why we didn't call you in last time."

"Has his most recent victim said anything?" I asked

"He just woke up." The Chief says and opened the door, "Ryan, these folks are with the FBI. Would you mind?" He asked the guy in the hospital bed who nodded at the nurse and she pulled back the bandage _BAU_

"Do you know what it means?" Ryan asked us

"Yes, we do." Aaron says

* * *

"That's the last batch, guys." The officer told us handing Tara the last of the pictures we sent

"Garcia, did the pictures come through?" Aaron asked her

 _"Yes, sir, they are coming in loud and disconcertingly clear."_

"This is it. You compare pictures of the old victims with pictures of the new victims, and see what's different?" The officer asked as we stared at the photos

"Aaron. You see it?" I asked him

"Yes."

"See what?" The officer asks

"Garcia, we need everybody." Aaron tells her

 _"Will do."_

* * *

"Go ahead, Hotch, we're all here." Rossi says over the phone

"The details of the Cullen case are all the same except for one." Aaron tells everyone

"The cuts on the latest victim are shallow and show definite hesitation marks." I add

 _"It doesn't make sense. From his first victim, Cullen inflicted as much pain as possible."_ JJ mentioned

 _"And prison would have made him mean. They're not nice there."_ Luke pointed out

"Brian Phillips doesn't match Cullen's previous injustice collector victimology, and the message at this time is "BAU" when we had nothing to do with his initial arrest 3 years ago. So, look, maybe he met someone in prison and told them all about us, but more likely..."

 _"This isn't Daniel Cullen. It's a very sophisticated copycat."_ Spencer says finishing for Tara

"Agent Alvez, this isn't the case you signed up for, but your history with it will still be an asset." Aaron tells him

 _"If someone's out there copying Cullen, it could still lead us to him, and I want in on that._

"I need everyone to look for any other discrepancies between the copycat and Cullen. Tara's gonna interview the latest victim and see what he remembers." Aaron finished

* * *

"Police." The Chief announced as we stood at the house Garcia sent us to then we walk in

"Hotch." We hear a woman say from behind a door and I look at Aaron, "Hotch. Hotch. Hotch. Hotch." She continues and we make our way to the door opening it seeing a woman tied to a chair with her head down, "Hotch. Hotch."

"I'm Hotch." Aaron tells her and she lifted her head up revealing HOTCH carved into her forehead. My heart sank and I looked at my brother again.

* * *

"Aaron.." I started to say but he just stood there

"Her name's Chelsea Carter. That's a complete dissociative break. We're still trying to figure out what connects her to Brian. Other than being a year younger, nothing." Tara informed us as we watched the girl get wheeled out of the house on a gurney.

"Well, Peter Lewis found a shared mental condition he could exploit. That's his victimology." Aaron mentions

"Last time he dosed men and women who had made false accusations of satanic ritual abuse, but that was in the mid-1980s, and Brian and Chelsea are both far too young to have lived through that hysteria." I point out

"Then they share a different condition." Aaron says and walked towards the kitchen

"Well, these are all heavy-duty anti-depressant and anti-psychotic drugs. This one's for PTSD." Tara held up a pill bottle

"Now play out the scenario. Someone like her inhales Peter Lewis' drugs. What's he trying to induce?" Aaron asked us and we all shared a look, "We need to build the profile."

* * *

"Thank you very much." Aaron hangs up the phone as the others walk into the station over to us and Spencer put his hand on my back, I nodded to him that I was ok, "That was Chelsea Carter's psychologist. He confirmed that for the past 15 years she suffered from dissociative identity disorder."

"D.I.D.? You're talking split personality." Luke says

"Technically, it's an updated diagnosis for multiple personality disorder." Spencer points out

"Both of our victims shared the same diagnosis, and Brian has it, too. That's a small victimology pool." JJ adds

"One that's localized here. The university of Tempe has a summer camp that helps kids with dissociative disorders."

"And Garcia's contacting all the doctors and administrators. It's got to be where he's finding his victims." I said

"Yeah, but what does D.I.D. get him?" Rossi asked

"He wants to manipulate their identities, and he wants a violent one." Aaron answered

"That means Peter Lewis is not the copycat. It's someone with D.I.D. who he dosed. So he's telling this alternate to cut his victims like the Crimson King, and he would need to keep dosing him to maintain the illusion." JJ says

"Peter Lewis never liked to kill. He always got others to do his dirty work for him." Rossi points out

"Here's the thing. D.I.D. is a difficult disorder to treat, but it's even more difficult for a third party to control. To succeed with this kind of experimentation, he would have had multiple failures." Spencer mentioned

"We are seeing that. Brian survived the torture, and Chelsea's mind snapped from it." I sais

"It begs the question, though...why didn't Brian go crazy?" Luke asked

* * *

"You can't analyze a fugitive's actions on the outside without taking into account what he did on the inside. So what did Peter Lewis do on the inside?" Luke asked

"Nothing. He was a model prisoner." I answered

"No, it goes further than that. He had no contact with other convicts. He didn't join or get pressured into a gang. When he gets out, he picks up as if no time had passed." Luke mentions

"So he had the resources in place before we arrested him." JJ points out

"A safe house to stay in, backup supplies of his drugs." Rossi adds

"He could have gone anywhere in the country. I mean, anywhere in the world, probably. Then he came here. To Tempe, Arizona?" Luke brought up

"He had the highest concentration of targets with D.I.D. here." Spencer tells him

"You said he wouldn't reveal himself until his plan was foolproof. Right? This isn't foolproof. Brian and Chelsea have been failures. But what part of his plan has worked?" Luke asked, "Us. You see where I'm going with this? Most fugitives, they do everything they can to stay on the D.L. He's courted our attention from the beginning. Where I keep hitting a wall is why."

"Especially if he already has a list of all the kids that went to that camp." Tara says

"Maybe we need to re-evaluate our presumptions. When Peter Lewis needed information before, he hacked Quantico." Aaron tells us

"Well, he can't do that again." I said

"So maybe he's going to get his information from us." Aaron says

"And we're compiling the very list he would want." Rossi adds

"We know all his tricks. We're not gonna give him the list. The police aren't. How is he gonna get it?" JJ asked

"Brian." Tara says, "I asked officer Dewey to go over the list with him once Garcia had something. Oh, god, Hotch, I'm so sorry."

 _"Yes, sir."_

"Garcia, don't distribute the list." Aaron tells her

 _"But... I just hit send."_

* * *

"Well, now we know who the copycat is." Rossi points out

"What's scientifically revolutionary is that Peter Lewis isn't just inducing an already existing alternate, he's actually creating one. Brian thinks he is the Crimson King. That's undocumented in D.I.D. literature." Spencer mentioned

"It is possible with the right balance of drugs and torture." Tara says

"Peter Lewis never tortured before." JJ brought up

"He does mentally, by hypnotizing his victims into self-harm. It explains Brian's shallow wounds." Aaron explained

"You mean he cut himself?" Luke asked

"It was all there in the story that he told me. I just didn't see it." Tara said

"D.I.D. is usually the result of trauma. If Peter Lewis could build an alternate like this through hypnotic suggestion, it means that Brian has some propensity for psychopathy in his past." Spencer tells us

"Lewis, did you locate the parents?" Aaron asked her

"Yeah."

"All right. See what kind of history you can get from them. The rest of us need to look at every clue again through the prism of Brian as Trojan horse." Aaron told us

"Where's the evidence room?" Luke asked

* * *

"Uh, yeah. This guy ordered this arm spreader. Um, two of them, actually." The lady at the shop told us

"Two of them? So where's the other one?" Luke asked

"Um... Could I see your badge again?" She asked Spencer and we looked at her as he grabbed it out showing it to her.

"Yeah. Is there a problem?"

"Um... Yeah, ok, the guy who ordered them, the name he left on the invoice was Dr. Spencer Reid." She tells him

"You got a fetish I don't about?" I asked him and he glanced at me, I saw Luke hold back a smile.

"Did he pay with my credit card also?" Spencer asked her putting his badge away

"Cash. I knew he was sketchy. Guys like him give S&M a bad rap. Which is why I did ask for a copy of Dr. Reid's driver's license, which he gave me happily."

"We'll need to see that right now." Luke tells her

"Oh, uh..."

* * *

 _"He was all up in your business, boy wonder. He used your social security number to do a change of address and everything, but, speaking of addresses, we have a local one for him."_ Garcia tells us

"That is just unsettling" I point out from the back seat

"Good. Get that information to the rest of the team and the police, please. We need to assume he has the same level of personal information for the entire BAU." Spencer told her as we headed to the address

"And Daniel Cullen." Luke adds

"But we ruled out his involvement." I tell him

"Now I'm not so sure. Peter Lewis copied a specific detail of Cullen's arm spreader, one that wasn't in a public record. The only way he could have gotten it is if the real Crimson King has been a part of this all along."

TBATG

 _Reid, Elizabeth, Luke, the police are 10 minutes out."_ Rossi tells us over the phone

"That could be a problem. If the police try to convince Brian he's not the Crimson King, he could get unstable." Spencer points out

 _"Guys, we might have a solution."_ Tara tells us

 _"Try to keep Brian calm. We're on our way."_ JJ adds

* * *

"FBI! Drop the weapon!" Spencer ordered him as we arrive at the house going inside

"No. No. Help me."

"The Crimson King doesn't kill. He doesn't have to. Remember?" Spencer asked Brian

"That's right. You kill and it's over. But if you let him go, he has to live the rest of his life as a failure. Isn't that what you really want?" Luke asked him

"No. That's not good enough."

"No one is gonna hurt you like that ever again." Tara says coming inside

"Back off! I mean it!"

"We can't do that. Ok? Someone told you to do this. But this isn't who you are, is it? We know that." Tara tells him

"No one is going to hurt you like that ever again." JJ reassured him

"Nobody hurt me, I hurt them."

"Yes, they did hurt you. They cut you when you were little. And then right here on this very table, you saw your own blood and you didn't know what to do, so you became the Crimson King to protect yourself. No one is gonna hurt you like that ever again." Tara says

"No one is gonna hurt you like that ever again." JJ told him as well

"Do you remember Eliza? Angelica?" Tara asked him, "What they used to say to you at the foster home to calm you down? No one is going to hurt you like that ever again." She tells him and he hesitated then dropped the knife

"Do you promise?" Brian asked her raising his hands

"Yeah." She says and moved over to him to cuff him, "Yeah. I promise. Brian, this is for your own protection, ok? We're taking you into custody, for your safety."

"Tara?"

"Yeah?"

"Oh, my God, what did I do?" He asked her as she started to lead him out of the house

"I'm going to be with you every step of the way. All right? I'm not leaving your side."

* * *

 **A few days later...**

"Go Jack!" I cheered sitting next to Aaron on the bleachers for Jack's soccer game, "He's gotten so good." I tell Aaron

"Yeah he has."

I smiled then looked back at my nephew but then something caught my eye, "Aaron," I said and looked in another direction, "Far right of the trees by the cars." I tell him and saw him look over then went to move, "No, let me." I tell him and he nodded then I got up and headed behind the bleachers making my way to the cars. By the time I got there and drew my gun Scratch was gone, "Damn it." I sighed and pulled out my phone.

* * *

 **A week after...**

"Hello." I said answering my phone

 _"Hi Mrs. Reid this is Miss Carlson, the principal from Jack's school."_

"Is he ok?" I asked her

 _"He's fine, he's sitting in the lobby of the office. I'm calling you because I couldn't reach Mr. Hotchner, I'm assuming he's on a case?"_

"Yeah, they should be back today. What's going on?" I asked

 _"As the kids were getting on the bus after school today and Jack was waiting for you or his dad someone who no one here knew tried walking over to him."_

 _Scratch,_ "Can you keep Jack there? I'm 5 minutes away." I tell her

"Yes of course."

"Thank you." I said and hung up, "Son of a bitch."

* * *

"Hey. Where is he?" Aaron asked walking into his apartment after getting home.

"In his room playing."

"You're sure it was Peter Lewis?" He asked and I nodded

"I pulled up his picture on my phone and they confirmed it was him."

Aaron put his hands on his hips and sighed, "What does Jack know?"

"That you weren't back from the case yet so I was picking him up but I was running late, that's why they had him in there." I tell him and he nodded

"Thank you."

"Aaron. This is two times now that Scratch has come close to Jack. He is not gonna stop, not until he hurts either one of you." I tell him and he looked back at Jack's room, "Look I know what you are gonna say, but you can't be here and on cases and protect Jack all at once. I think you know what you need to do, it kills me to say it but..."

"No, no you're right. It's what's best for him." He says and I hug him

* * *

 **A week later...**

 **Spencer POV...**

"I'm dead serious." Alvaz says as we walk into the bullpen

"There's no way." JJ argued

"The probability of that happening to you more than once is astounding." I point out

"I know. I know. But I was there, ok, and I'm telling you, it was crazy." He tells me and Garcia walked over

"Thank God you guys are here. What do you know?" She asked us and we looked at her in confusion

"Nothing." JJ answered

"Ok. Rossi got here crazy early, and then right when Prentiss came in he pulled her in there." She tells us then Emily and Rossi came out of his office

"We need to talk." Rossi says and we head into the round room

"Ok, ok. What's going on?" Garcia asked him

"It's Hotch."

"Oh, my God. Is he ok?" She asked

"He's ok. But he has not been away on special assignment. That's something we had to say as a cover for the investigation."

"What investigation?" Garcia asks

"Elizabeth and Hotch saw Peter Lewis watching one of Jack's soccer games." Rossi says and I feel my gut twist

"By the time Elizabeth reacted, Lewis had taken off. The Bureau searched the area, but he disappeared." Emily adds

"When was this?" JJ asked

"Days after Mr. Scratch resurfaced in Arizona." Rossi replied

"One of the victims was chanting his name when we found her. She had "Hotch" carved into her forehead. It really got to him." Tara mentions

"Why didn't he tell us? We could have focused on finding Mr. Scratch." I asked

"He knows we can't drop everything. Also, he didn't want to worry everyone." Rossi says

"So now what? They have around-the-clock surveillance?" Alvez asked him

"Initially, yes. Agents and Elizabeth were assigned to watch Jack 24/7. But when we were all in L.A. On the John David Bates case, Scratch surfaced again, this time at Jack's school." _Oh no_

"Going after Jack takes this to a whole new level."

"Did you know?" Garcia asked me

"No. Liz never mentioned anything."

"She was told not to say a word to anyone, not even you Reid, I'm sorry," Rossi told me and I gave a small nod, "Peter Lewis is not going to stop. Which is why Hotch and Jack have now entered the program."

"Witness Protection. Oh, ok, uh, wow." Tara says

"But now that this happened, we can drop everything and focus on catching Mr. Scratch, and then Hotch can come back, right?" Garcia asked

"He went away believing that could happen. But things have changed. He's now decided that he can't put himself and Jack in danger again. He just sent in his resignation." Rossi tells us, "I know this is a lot to process."

"I mean, yeah, he's a great dad, and this is an impossible job, and we know how much tragedy he's had. He's had enough tragedy. But...does this mean we're never going to be able to talk to him again?" Garcia asks

"We don't have a choice. It's not ideal, obviously. But as his friends, we have to support his decision."

"The only way for Hotch to guarantee Jack's safety is if they both stay off the grid." Emily says

"And one more thing. Hotch spoke to the director as to who should replace him. Don't worry, it won't be me. You know I'm allergic to paperwork." Rossi says and we chuckle, "But Hotch's final request was that Emily Prentiss becomes the BAU's new bureau chief."

"Thank the universe for silver linings." Garcia says

"Ok, I just heard about all of this myself a few minutes ago."

"Congratulations, Emily." Alvez tells her

"This'll be good, right?" I asked

"You kidding me? This'll be great." JJ says

"I am really happy for you." Tara said

"Thank you, guys, but I haven't exactly signed on yet." Emily tells us

"Everyone knows you have a lot to consider, but the brass needs an answer by tomorrow." Rossi told her

"Understood."

"I can't imagine how hard this is on Elizabeth." Tara says and JJ put her hand on my arm

"She was the only one permitted to helping and sending them off but she doesn't know where they are going." Rossi mentioned and my heart began to ache.

"I have to talk to her." I started to say but Garcia's phone went off

"I hate to interrupt the bad news/good news with bad news/bad news, but we've got 3 missing kids in Delaware." She says and I sighed, JJ rubbed my arm and we sat down.

* * *

 **2 days later...**

"You ok?" JJ asked Emily as we sat on the plane heading home after our case

"Yeah. I'm just glad we found those kids."

"Oh, yeah, me, too. But, uh, I was talking about that other thing." JJ tells her

"I haven't had a chance to talk to you guys. What do you think?" She asked us

"I think we've been through a lot of changes and we always figure it out, you know? Morgan left, and now Hotch, but if you stay, it'll be ok." I tell her

"Well, I talked to Mark."

"And?" JJ asked

"He's gonna be here next week for a visit."

"Well, that's a good start. But they need an answer in the morning, right?" JJ asks

"I know."

"Here's the truth. If you don't take the position, they're gonna bring in some stranger to be the Unit chief. And I don't know how that'll turn out, but the learning curve could be brutal." I said sitting down next to her

"It'll probably stink for us, but...look, we're your friends and we'll support you no matter what you decide." JJ adds

"I'm gonna stay." Emily tells us

"Oh, thank God!" JJ says

"Are you serious?" I asked her

"Yes. I love being here, and I've really missed you guys."

"We have missed you, too." JJ says

"Honestly, you have no idea how much." I mention and Emily grabbed my hand.

"Have you spoken to Elizabeth?" She asked me

"No, um..I tried but her phone has been going to voicemail."

"It's gonna be okay Spence." JJ tells me

"I know, I know it will. Just the thought of her having to say goodbye to them and not knowing when she's gonna see them again. It hurts me to think about how much it's hurting her." I said and Emily hugged me

"It's gonna be okay."

* * *

"We need to talk." Garcia tells us coming out of the round room then headed back in so we all followed her, "Surprise!" Garcia cheered as we walked in seeing her pour some cider into glasses

"News travels fast." Emily tells her grabbing a glass

"Oh, good news does. I'm so happy you're here. We all are."

"And I've got some big shoes to fill." Emily says

"Well, I'm not worried. Besides, you'd never let us all down." Rossi told her

"Oh, great. No pressure." Emily laughed

"Well, let me just say something to everyone. I, um... I've been in and out of here since 1978, but I know this is where I belong. I've seen a lot of great agents pass through those doors, and a lot of them have moved on. Now, most of this team has been together for over a decade. But I promise you, that doesn't happen often. Now, I've heard the rumblings about how lucky we are, and it's true, but the truth is, it's what happens...when we're not on a case that has defined who we are. We stand beside one another, through good, through bad, because we're family. So...to Aaron and Jack, I don't know who's luckier, but it warms my heart to know that they'll be together every day and safe." Rossi says

"Hear, hear." JJ said

"And to Emily, our friend and new Unit Chief. Welcome home." Rossi adds

"Cheers!" We all say and clink our glasses together.

"Spence." JJ says and I look at her, she nodded her head to the doorway and I turned to see Liz standing there. I put my glass down and walked over to her.

"Are you ok?" I asked and she shook her head as everyone walked over

"That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do." She told me as tears came out and I pulled her into a hug as she cried into my shoulder. Everyone else came over and joined telling her it was gonna be okay. I hated seeing my wife broken like this.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I sat on the couch that night after getting the kids to bed and Spence walked over handing me a cup of tea, "I know this is hard for you, I am so sorry you have to go through this." He says and I sniffled then set my cup down.

I grabbed his hand, "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you, I wish I could have but.."

"Hey," He put his cup down and put his hand on my face, "Don't be sorry. You did what you had to. For both of them."

"It's just...this is the second time that Jack has had to go into the program at such a young age and I don't know where he is, and not being able to talk to my brother? It hurt Spence, it hurts so much." I tell as tears fall out of my eyes and he wiped them away pulling me into a hug, "What makes it even worse is that I had to tell Sean what happened. We cried together on the phone and trust me it's not easy to make him cry." I said giving a light chuckle.

"It's gonna be fine sweetie. We'll find Scratch and this will all be over."

"I know. I know we will and when we do I'm gonna kill him." I tell him

 **A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter because trust me I was crying as I typed that ending part, that's how into my characters I get. Thank you my lovelies.**


	52. Chapter 52

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Stop." Spencer tells me as we stand at the coffee counter in the bullpen.

I pulled my hand away from my mouth, "Sorry."

"Sweetie it's..."

"Spence, hunny I love you but if you tell me it's gonna be ok one more time I'm gonna have to kick your ass." I tell him and he smiled walking over to me.

"Threat or promise?" He asked putting his hands on my waist and I sighed rolling my eyes then he kissed me.

"Okay you two break it up this momma needs coffee." JJ says to us walking over and I giggled.

"What's going on there?" I asked looking up at the round room where I saw Garcia and Emily standing.

"Do we have a case?" Spencer asked me

"Nothing came across my desk unless Garcia got something."

"Hmm, let's go see." JJ says and we head up to the room

"What's going on?" I asked as we walked in

"It's Gabriel." Spencer points out and we look at the screen

"How did... how come you guys know about..." Garcia tried to ask

"Uh, she told us about him when she first joined the team." JJ says

"He flew in this morning, probably looking for money." Spencer pointed out

"Hey. Is there a case? What's Tara's brother's picture doing up?" Luke asked walking in with Rossi

"Well, he's in town." Emily told him

"He must want money." Rossi points out as well and I giggled

"Come on, the new guy?" Garcia asked, "He knows? How come I was the last one to know?" She asked us

"It was an experiment. She wanted to time how long you could keep a private conversation private. And you made it 12 hours." Spencer told her

"Damn. I had you down for 6." Luke says and I tried to hold back a laugh

"Ok, you know what? You guys, I thought you were my friends. But you suck. You all suck." Garcia says walking away, "Especially you, new guy. But then you always suck. Newbie." She tells him and walked out

"I had 14 hours. I think I win, right?" Spencer asked

"Uh, who had 11?" JJ asks pointing at the others

"Oh, I did." Emily answered raising her hand and Spence groaned

* * *

"We can hold that man for 24 hours. After that we need to either charge him or let him go." Emily tells Tara as her and Spencer walked over to us

"Is Gabriel answering his phone?" I asked her

"This is his phone. His contacts, his emails. Look at this. He was in the Capitol Hill district. And look at the time stamp. He's been in my backyard a month and he hasn't told me."

"Does your father know?" Emily asked her

"Maybe. I mean, I have to speak to him."

"Albert Lewis body shop. He's listed, right? I'll bring him in." Spencer told her and walked away and Tara puts her brother's phone in a bag for Garcia

"Ok, process that and break it down." Emily told her

"Aye aye."

"Just why would Gabriel send a stranger to meet me and pretend it's him? It makes no sense. Maybe he's scared, or maybe it's another one of his scams, but..."

"Tara let's talk." Emily says cutting her off and they walk away

* * *

"Good afternoon. I'm Elizabeth Reid with the Behavioral..."

"Analysis Unit of the FBI. Tara told me you were cool." The man says as I walked into the interrogation room

"All right. And you are?" I asked him sitting down

"Gabriel, her brother."

"Could I get your full name and social, please?" I ask

"Gabriel Anthony Lewis. 989-42-7001."

I put the file I had in front of him, "That is Tara's brother. See the problem here?" I asked

"What? It's a driver's license photo. They asked me not to smile.

"Where were you born?" I ask

"Army base, Fort Rucker."

"Right. In, uh, Georgia?" I asked him

"No. Alabama." He tells me

"With stops in Okinawa and Hamburg?"

"Other way around. Hamburg first."

"What did you major in at Yale?" I ask

"I didn't. What is going on here?" He asked me

"Why are you the only one that gets to call her T.?"

"We're going there, huh?" He scoffed and looked behind me at the mirror, "Her name is spelled T-A-R-A. It was my father's grandmother's name. You know what else is spelled T-A-R-A? Tara. The plantation in "Gone with the Wind." Some movie most black folks aren't crazy about. So my mom and dad, they drilled it into her, it's Tar-a, Tar-a, Tar-a. And every time we went to a new school, which was every time my dad got re-stationed, she had to make sure our classmates got it right. You feel me?" He asked me

"Yeah, I do."

"Good. So while we're in Hamburg, this kid starts following her around and he starts saying, Terra, Terra, Terra, Terra. Now, he never seen Vivien Leigh or Clark Gable or "I don't know nothin' about birthin' no babies." He just knew that he was getting underneath her skin. And my sister said..." He says and stopped then looked at the mirror again

"Go on. What did she say?" I asked him

"What happened next is our secret. Mine and hers. I wouldn't tell the rest just to anybody. My sister knows that. All that matters for this little back and forth, which I'm guessing she put you up to is afterward I started calling her T... To show her that I was always on her side. Even now, T. Even now." He says looking at the mirror

* * *

 _"Ok, here's what I can tell you about Carl Brubaker. He does in fact live in the city, and the GPS on Gabriel's phone has been consistently there for the last month."_ Garcia tells me, Tara and Luke over the phone

"So he had been staying with him like my father said." Tara pointed out

"Maybe he still is but our unsub got a hold of his phone somehow." Luke tells her

"With my brother it's never that simple. Something else is going on."

 _"Guys, we're being set up."_ Spencer says

"What do you mean, Spence?" I asked him

 _"The face in the driver's license photo displays perfect facial symmetry, I mean perfect, beyond what the human genome can produce. The picture's a computer-generated forgery."_

 _"Who would hack into the DMV and plant a fake..."_ Garcia started to ask then it hit me

"Alvez, step on it." Tara told him

* * *

"FBI! Anybody here?" Luke announced as we walk through the building

"Luke!" We hear someone yell

"That's Gabriel. Gabriel, where are you?" Tara yells

"Luke! Luke!" We run down the hall to follow and come into a room with 4 pictures on stands, "Luke! Luke!" We hear and turn around then go the other way entering another room, Luke lifts up a panel on the wall and we see Tara's brother on a screen tied to a chair, "Luke! Luke! Luke!"

"It's on a loop." He says and we see someone go up behind Gabriel putting a mask over him

"Luke! Luke!" He muffled then the next person I see on the screen makes my blood boil

"Luke can't help you now."

"Aah!" Gabriel yelled

"Mr. Scratch has my brother."

* * *

"I've placed protective details on Hayden and Joy and Will and the boys and Amanda, Haley and Alexander." Emily told us walking into the round room and I nodded at her, "We need to assume that Mr. Scratch is targeting this entire team."

"You know, that could be why he had Gabriel screaming out my name. He wants us to know that he knows I'm part of the BAU now." Luke points out

"Isn't his M.O. to drug his victims and make them hallucinate?" Emily asked

"Then he evolved. He's taking these victims with multiple personalities and brainwashing them with someone else's memories." I told her

"So he took Tara's brother and did God knows what to get him to spill his life story, and then he planted those memories in the guy downstairs. The more memories he has, the stronger the identity he can create." Luke mentions

"He must have put Gabriel's whole life inside of Desmond." JJ says

"Well, the good news is we have a list from before. Patients with dis-associative identity disorder Scratch might target next." Garcia tells us

"Ok, cross-reference those against missing persons. The rest of us need to figure out how to deprogram the unsub safely. He's still our best lead to Scratch and Gabriel." Emily brought up

"It's the pictures that are baffling. Scratch left them out specifically to call our attention to them." Spencer pointed out

"He's a math genius. He likes us to solve his puzzles, which usually tend to lead to bigger traps." Luke told him

"But it's the configuration that's strange. The pictures are obviously of Gabriel at different ages, but normally one would arrange them in chronological or reverse chronological order. 15, 11, and 32 is a pattern that he wants us to see." Spencer explained

"Not us. Tara. It's a pattern he wants her to see." Rossi says

* * *

"Pause the video. Zoom in on the wrist, Garcia." Spencer told her and we look at the rope on Gabriel's wrist, "That rope, it's called shibari. It's an intricate form of BDSM bondage. The last time Mr. Scratch needed BDSM gear, he used a fake name. My name, actually to buy it."

"Well, maybe he did the same thing with Carl Brubaker. It could give us another location Scratch is hiding at. Garcia, can you run financials?" I asked her

"Yes, I will. And my search of possible D.I.D. patients/ potential victims is going to give us a much needed break," She says and her computer beeped, "I know that name."

* * *

"So from what Spence and I dug up, Scratch used his fake identity to buy a shibari rope from this couple. They own a batik sex shop. In addition to the rope, he also made a very expensive purchase that was listed only as other." I inform Emily

"Shop's probably closed by now."

"We do have their home address." I said

"We have to hurry. Scratch likes mind games, and right now he's putting Tara through hell." She tells me and we get up to leave, "Elizabeth," I turned and faced her, "I know it's been hard for you, and I want you to know you can come to me if you need anything." She says and I nodded.

"Thank you. I just hope we catch this bastard so that I can save my family." I tell her and we leave.

* * *

"Mom, Dad!" The little girl says knocking on their door

"Don't come in!" They shouted

"Someone was at the door, so I let them in."

"Honey, you know we talked about this." Her mom tells her

"You said it was ok if it was the police, and it's the FBI."

"FBI?! What's the FBI doing here?!" The dad asked

"I have no idea. I'm slipping. I'm slipping! Aah!" The mom screams and there was a thud

"Hannah, you know what? We can take it from here." I tell her

"Ok. Just so you know, sometimes it takes him a while to untie her." She says and walked past me and Emily

"I am so glad Spencer's not into this stuff." I point out and Emily chuckled

* * *

"Can I offer you anything to drink?" The mom asked us sitting down

"No, thank you. We're good." Emily tells her

"Yes, I made equipment for Carl Brubaker, we talked on the phone, but we never met face to face." The dad mentions

"Do you have an address?" I asked him

"Just a P.O. box. We needed to make sure they could handle a delivery of that size." The mom says

"And what did you make for him?" Emily asked

"It was a vise connected to a pressure plate, which was in turn built around a chair. If you moved the weight off the pressure plate, the vise would squeeze.  
The mom says

"If you take the weight off, how tightly would it squeeze?" I asked

"Tight enough to cut off blood flow." The dad answered

"Or oxygen?" Emily asked

"Yes, or oxygen."

* * *

"Here's the thing about brainwashing. It's actually a myth. You go back to MKUltra and the CIA dosing people with LSD and "the Manchurian candidate," never worked." Luke tells me, Emily and JJ

"Scratch cracked the code with his drugs and his patients with multiple personalities." JJ told him

"That's true, but I keep going back to the video that Garcia got. Now, this Desmond guy is supposed to be super delicate. One wrong word and he goes into a stupor. That's not what we're seeing. Desmond Holt is dug in. You can watch the real Gabriel in here right now and Desmond's going to insist that he's Tara's brother. I think the only way Scratch could have gotten him to that point is if there was overlap somehow. Emotional overlap, psychological overlap. If we can find that overlap, we might be able to deprogram Desmond."

"All right. What do they share?" Emily asked

"Hatred." We hear Tara say as she walked over to us, "For the father figure in their lives. Desmond played Russian roulette with his stepfather, and Gabriel...well, yeah, it's not the same thing, but it's close."

"That's good what else?" Luke asked her

"When Mom died, they were all alone, and he needed a protector."

"'Luke can't save you now.' That's what Scratch said." Luke says

"I mean, we knew Scratch would be baiting us." I point out to him

"That name, it should have copied over. When I stopped him at the elevator, he didn't even know who I was."

"Are there any other Lukes in his life?" Emily asked Tara

"Not that I can..." Tara stared to say but stopped and looked at the bored, "You gotta be kidding me."

"What do you see?" Luke asked her

"This whole time I thought Luke and these pictures were separate clues. They're not. They're the same clue. This is the pattern that Scratch wanted us to see. Luke, 15, 11, 32. The Gospel of Luke, chapter 15, verses 11 through 32. I know exactly what this is." She says taking the 25 picture off.

* * *

"It's something bad, isn't it? Something you're not telling me." Tara's dad says stopping her

"Dad, I have to go." She says and moved past him to the elevator we were in

"Tara Elizabeth... Whatever it is, you can tell me. I can take it. Because, uh... It's all my fault."

"This is no one's fault." She tells him and joined us then the doors closed, "Thank you." she says to us

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm getting tired of losing to this rat-faced son of a bitch. He's not gonna take anyone else away from us, not on my watch. Am I clear?" Emily asked and Spencer grabbed my hand giving it a light squeeze

"Hoo-ah." Luke says and the doors open

"Let's go to work."

* * *

We make our way through the warehouse with our guns up looking around, "Clear!" Luke yells

"Wait, hold up." Spencer says and I see him looking up, "That doesn't belong. Lewis, Elizabeth, Alvez, second floor. Reid, JJ, open that up, but don't disable anything until you get my go-ahead." Emily tells us and we make our way up the stairs coming to a door which Luke slid open and we walked inside seeing Gabriel tied to a chair which was rigged.

"Gabriel? You're gonna be ok. All right?" Tara reassured him

"JJ, we found him. What do you have on your end?" Emily asked over the radio

 _"We found a power source. If we cut the right wire, it should shut down the vise."_

"No. No, no, no, no, no. Don't look at that. Look at me. Keep your eyes on me. Right here. Right here." TAra says to Gabriel when he started to look around

"This rope is heavy. Just removing it will shift the weight differential and fire the gun." Luke told her

"JJ, what have you got?" Emily asked

 _"We may have something. Hang on."_

"We're gonna get out out of this, ok? We're gonna find a way. No, no. Don't move. Don't move. Stop. Stop!" Tara tells Gabriel as he starts to move

"It's engaging!" Luke yelled

"No, no, no, hold it! Stop!" Tara yells moving over to Gabriel and blocked him from the gun but nothing happened and I sighed in relief

"Ohh... Ok." Luke says and moved behind the chair to untie Gabriel

"Wait a minute. Why would Scratch stage this? It's not in his profile, unless he's leading us into a bigger trap." I point out, "Spencer JJ, look for another trigger." I tell them over my radio then suddenly a metal gate came down behind me and Emily with a sign.

"Reid, what is Exodus, chapter 8, verse 24?" Emily asked him

 _"It's one of the plagues of Moses. "And the Lord did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh's palace. Throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies."_ He says then me and Emily look up seeing spikes.

"It's above us!" I yelled

 _"There's a redundance switch somewhere. It's going off."_

"Get this off me." Gabriel says and we get the bindings off of him

 _"I believe... All right, this will only delay the trigger for a few seconds."_ I hear Spencer say

 _"All right, go, go, go, go go! Get him off of there!"_ JJ yelled and we all get off the panel

"Go! Go, go, go!" Emily Yelled and we run off of it as nails shoot down and hit where we just were

"Is everyone ok? Is anyone hurt?" Emily asked us

"I'm good." Luke answered

"I'll tell you in a minute." I said

"Hey T." Gabriel says and I see them hug

* * *

"You okay?" Spencer asked me as I sat on the bed while he changed

"Honestly, no. I really hoped that we were gonna catch him." I tell him and he sat down next to me.

"Hey, we will. You have to believe that."

"He's just one step ahead of us and it pisses me off. I want to find him and I want to put a bullet in his head for threatening my family. I may not have been able to save Haley but I'm gonna make damn sure I save her son and my brother." I tell him and he pulled me into a hug.

"If there's one thing I know for sure it's that I know you won't stop until we get him, but don't lose yourself to do it. Promise me."

I looked up at him, "I promise." I said and he kissed me.

"Let's get some rest. It's been a long day." He says and I nod then we get under the blanket and fall asleep in each other's arms. I know that no matter what having him and our children in my life I will always feel strong and safe.


	53. Chapter 53

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Hey! Welcome back you two!" JJ greeted me and Spencer walking over to us

"Hi." I hugged her then Spencer got up and did the same

"I missed you so much."

"You must be Walker. Great to finally meet you." I tell him shaking his hand

"It's really great to finally meet you both."

"I've heard nothing but wonderful things."

"Uh, ok, speaking of wonderful things, let's have it. How's your mom doing?" JJ asked Spencer

"She's ok. You know, we have good days and bad days."

"So, are you still going to be going to Houston on the weekends to visit her?" She asked

"You actually..." He started to say but his phone rang, "Excuse me." He turned and answered it, "Dr. Reid. What? All right, stay there. I'll be right...I'm on my way, ok? Thanks." He says and hung the phone up looking at me briefly, "Sorry, guys, I have to go."

"Everything all right?" JJ asked him

"A water pipe broke at the house." He tells them

"Need me to come to?" I asked

"No it's ok I'll handle it. Tell Prentiss I'll call her when I can." He says and left. JJ gave me a look and I smiled at her then Emily's door opened and my phone went off

"What was that all about?" She asked

"Reid apparently has a plumbing emergency at home." Walker told her

"Oh, no, what a pain. You didn't need to go?" Emily asked me

"No he said he got us, can't have both of us gone today. Anyways we'll need to bring him up to speed later. Right now we have a case." I tell them and walked up to the round room avoiding the look JJ was giving me

* * *

"Last night, in Tampa, this semi sort of doodle was discovered on the arm of a cadaver that was being dissected in an anatomy class." I informed the others standing in front of the screen

"What is it, some kind of tattoo?" Tara asked

"No, it's an ink pen drawing." Emily says

"Yeah, and luckily for law enforcement, the teacher of the anatomy class is also the county coroner, and she recognized the marking. She'd also seen it on...Helen Bollinger," I said and put another picture on the screen

"Helen was found dead in her car 10 days earlier with 50 sleeping pills in her system and it was ruled a suicide." Emily adds

"With that scribbled on her arm? Please tell me there was an equivocal death investigation." Walker says to her and Luke gets up walking over to the screen

"There was, but the M.E. determined that the evidence didn't meet the threshold to rule it a homicide."

"The marking on the second body has an extra line added to it. The design could be a work in progress." Luke says pointing at the screen

"Do we have an identity on the cadaver?" Rossi asked

"Yes. George Findley. He's a Gulf war vet. He lived on the street for years. He died of a heroin overdose." I told him pulling the pictures up

"Marking looks like an initial, an "A", maybe." Luke mentioned

"It could also be a partial triangle." JJ says

"Or the unsub's got a brand all his own and he's sending a message... "these victims belong to me.'" Walker pointed out

"If it's a message, why place it on such an obscure part of the body?" Rossi asked

"A sophisticated staging like this takes time and practice. This unsub's killed before." Tara replied

"Which means we need to move fast. Reid can meet us later in Florida. Wheels up in 10." Emily says and we leave.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Don't worry, I'm never coming back!" I hear the aid yell as I knelt down cleaning up the water off the floor and my books

"Whoa, what are you doing?" I asked her as she stormed past me to the door

"Leaving."

"You can't leave. We have an agreement. You signed a contract."

"The contract didn't say anything about a crazy person threatening my life. She did this on purpose. Goodbye." She tells me and walked out

"Is she gone?" My mom asked walking into the room

"Mom, what did you say to her?" I asked her

"She was trying to get information from me. Kept asking questions!"

"Of course she was. She's supposed to." I told her as she moved past me to the front door and locked it.

"I told you to be careful about the people you bring into this house. There are spies everywhere!"

"She's not a spy. She was here to help you." I explained

"Shh! She might still be out there listening." She says and I sighed, "Don't ever let her come back in here again, please. Promise me."

"I will promise you that, because she is never coming back! She walked out!"

"Good. Because we can only trust each other now. Nobody else. Just you, me and Elizabeth." She tells me

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Ok. Love you too. Bye." I said hanging up with Spencer

"So?" Rossi asked me

"So..short version... Spence took his mom out of the clinical study study in Houston early and brought her home with us." I tell them

"Did he say why?" Tara asked me

"Evidently the experimental medicine isn't working."

"Which facility is he putting her in up here?" Walker asked

"He isn't. He said that he is bringing his mom to stay with us."

"At your house?" Luke asked me

"The instinct is admirable, but does Reid have any idea how difficult that's gonna be?" Emily asked

"Well, before this it was different, but he is gonna get a crash course now. This morning his mom got into a fight with the new caretaker we hired, then she left the bathroom faucet running and flooded part of the house, the caretaker quit, but Spence still wants to be patched in for the video conferencing now. Garcia's standing by." I said and sat down.

 _"Hey-o. Beaming Reid into the starship BAU."_ Garcia says popping onto the screen then Spencer came on.

"Hey, there's my favorite genius. Welcome back." Rossi says and I chuckled

 _"It's good to be back. I'm sorry about all this trouble."_

"No, don't be silly. And if there's anything we can do to help the both of you, just let us know." Emily told him and looked at me.

 _"Thank you. I had a chance to look over the case files. Do we know anything new about the two victims in Tampa?"_ Spencer asked

"Only about how little there is to learn, and Garcia can't find any connection between Helen Bollinger and George Findley." Tara told him

"Which isn't that surprising. Homeless vet, upper-middle-class suburban mom. Not much overlap there." Walker adds

"What about their personal lives?" Luke asked from next to me

"Well, George was homeless, so his personal life was sort of problematic. Helen, on the other hand, ticks every box on the wholesome soccer mom checklist. President of her PTA, super active at church, heavily involved in charity work."

"Spence, have you looked at the ink markings yet?" I asked him

 _"I did. Whatever it is, it doesn't come from traditional sources of art, mythology, and literature. Except for the incomplete base of a triangle, the design is evocative of the pagan symbol for earth."_

"Garcia, look into other questionable suicides and accidental deaths in the Tampa area recently." Emily told her

 _"Searching the sad stuff. On it."_ Garcia says and she hung up herself and Spencer.

"Rossi, when we land, you and Lewis check in with the M.E. Alvez, Elizabeth see what you can find out about George Findley. JJ, Helen Bollinger's husband is coming in. I'd like you to talk to him to see if he can fill in some of the blanks. Walker and I will set up with the local P.D." Emily tells us

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Hey. How'd you sleep?" I asked my mom as she came out of her room

"I'm... Ok, I guess."

"Look what arrived while you were sleeping." I said getting up grabbing a box then pulled a book out of it

"What is that?"

"It's your old scrapbook. I had uncle Gordon send it from Las Vegas. Look." I said opening it

"What's it for?"

"It's a scrapbook, Mom. You started this one in high school. See?" I pointed to the picture of her graduating

"Hmm."

"Put pictures and things in it that you want to keep forever. I thought it might help bring back some nice memories. It's time to take your medicine." I tell her walking away

"No. No. It tastes terrible. What if it's poison?" She asked and I stopped

"Mom, it's not poison. Remember when you first started taking it in Texas? It helped. You felt so good that we were able to go on that trip to San Antonio. It's not poison. Just wait right here." I tell her and walked to the hallway reaching into the cabinet grabbing out a small vile then went into the kitchen and put some orange juice into a cup then the medicine and walked back into the living room, "I put it in some orange juice so it wouldn't taste so bad." I tell her and she just looked at me, "Mom, come on." I said and she grabbed the glass

"Are you going to stand there and watch me?"

"Yes." I said and she drinks the orange juice

"Ahh." She shows me the inside of her mouth

"You don't have to do that."

"Of course I do. I have to do whatever you want." She says handing me the glass then walked away

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Hey, what say the mean streets of Tampa?" Emily asked me and Luke when we walked into the room

"The streets might be mean, but George Findley wasn't. Everybody we talked to loved the guy." Luke answered

"No drug issues?" she asked

"No, just the opposite. He was a street liaison for a drug rehab center that focused on substance abuse among the homeless." I told her

"So he and Helen Bollinger did have something in common. They were both held in especially high esteem by their peers."

"One thing was kind of strange. Findley's body was found 10 miles outside of town in an abandoned construction site, nowhere near any of his usual haunts." Luke mentioned walking over to the board

"Lab results on the heroin syringe. George Findley's prints and DNA were found on it and nobody else's." Emily tells us

"He shot himself up with heroin? That makes no sense." I point out

"Unless it was under duress, like Helen with the pills." JJ says

"So for some reason, it's critical to our unsub's ritual that his victims die by their own hand. We need to figure out why." Emily added

* * *

"Owen Sims. Officer said he's the husband of the female vic at the house." Luke says as me, him and Tara walk over to the body, "Let's see what we have." He bends down to the body, "Yep." He holds up the vic's arm

"Well, that's definitely the work of our unsub, but why draw the symbol on Owen and not on the wife?" I asked

"Owen must have been the principal target. His wife was collateral damage." Luke says

"Plus, he went to the trouble to drag him all the way out here." Tara adds

"Gunshot wound to the head, pointblank range, large caliber." Luke points out

"Probably the .44 Magnum we found in the living room. But the female's wound was smaller. 9-millimeter, maybe." Tara says

"Two guns. I mean, that's a big step up in violence from sleeping pills and a syringe." I said

"Well, maybe our killer's getting closer to the true source of his rage." She tells us

"So why, why does the unsub move Owen from the house to this spot?" Luke asked her

"I don't know. Maybe our killer sees something out here we don't."

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I was sitting at my desk in the other room when I heard the door bell ring, I got up and walked into the living room where my mom was, "All right, Mom, I just want you to meet her, ok? Just meet her and tell me what you think." I tell her walking over to the couch

"I already know what I think."

"Come on, Mom, let's go. Let's go say hi. Mom..." I said trying to help her up but she fought against me, "Mother." but she ignored me so I walked over to the coffee table grabbing the book, "Maybe you can show her your scrapbook, huh?" I asked putting it on her lap

"What for?" She asked and the doorbell rang again so I walked over and answered it, "Miss Campbell?" I ask

"Dr. Reid."

"Thank you so much for coming on such short notice. On such short notice." I tell her

"No problem."

"Come in." I let her in then shut the door as she looks around

"My goodness. You must be quite a reader." She pointed out then walked over to the Alexander's toys, "Little boy?" She asked and I smiled.

"Yes and a daughter but their both with the nanny right now. And I'm so sorry about the mess. We had a, uh, we had a little bit of an accident." I tell her and we walk to the living room, "Come, meet my mom. Mom, this is miss Campbell from the agency. Miss Campbell, this is my mother Diana Reid." I introduced

"Very nice to meet you, ma'am." Miss Campbell says but my mom ignored her then stood up putting the scrapbook down walking towards her room

"Mom. Mom. Just say hi to her. All you..." I started to say going after her but she shut the door in my face, "Mother, you are behaving like A... Mom, come out..."

"It's all right. Let it go. Let it go" Miss Campbell told me

"I'm so sorry. She's not... She's been really upset, but I know if I talk to her..."

"This happens a lot. Come and sit and tell me more about your mother." She tells me and we both sit on the couch

"All right. Thank you."

* * *

"That's when me and my wife made the decision to bring her back to Washington with us." I told Miss Campbell

"It's a very difficult thing you're attempting to do, Dr. Reid. The Anderson clinic is one of the best facilities in the world."

"Yes, I know. In terms of conventional treatment, I entirely agree. And that's why I sent her to Houston in the first place, but there's a vast amount of literature and research on the workings of the human brain, and we have not even begun to scratch the surface. Personally, I believe that great breakthroughs, especially in medicine, often come from thinking outside the box, which..." I begin to tell her

"Yes, but the box is there for a reason, Dr. Reid. I mean, safety, quality of life, controlled environment. Your mother needs that. My strong recommendation is that you put her in an assisted care facility."

"I'm not gonna do that." I tell her

"You're not gonna do that." She says at the same time and I chuckled

"I'm not."

"Well...That being the case, I'd be happy to help you with your mother." She tells me and I look at her in shock as she stood up

"Y-you... are you serious? Oh, my gosh, thank you! You've no..." I said and hugged her then backed off, "I'm so sorry. Sorry. Thank you. You've no idea how much this means to me."

"I won't be able to start until tomorrow." She says

"I understand."

"But in the meantime, I'll hire someone who can cover the night shifts when you and your wife are traveling."

"Oh, that would be so perfect. Thank you and the nanny will keep the kids out of the way but if you need her she's only a phone call away." I tell her

"I'm sure that won't be necessary. Now, one more thing. I need to see the medications she's currently taking."

"Yeah, ok. Of course, yeah." I tell her walking into the kitchen grabbing my mom's old pills

"It's something we monitor carefully for obvious reasons."

"Of course." I walked back in and showed her the bottles

"Haloperidol, Doxepin, Galantamine. Fairly standard for the treatment of schizophrenia and Alzheimer's. She's not taking anything else?" She asked me

"No."

"Ok, then. I'll work out the details of the contract and send it over later tonight. You have a nice day, Dr. Reid."

"You, too. Thank you so much." I tell her walking her out

"You're welcome."

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"There must be some sort of logic as to how this unsub chooses his disposal sites, because it's certainly not convenience." Rossi says as we look at the board

"Notice in every location the earth is damaged in some way." Luke mentions

"Damaged how?" I asked

"Dug up. Gone to seed. Findley was left at this abandoned construction site. Owen was dragged to this ratty little area, and Helen Bollinger's car was parked at the edge of a landfill."

"You're right. He could have gone to less risky areas if all he was doing was disposing of them outside the city." Rossi says in agreement

"I'm going to go back to these locations, take a closer look." Luke tells us

"Do you see something?" JJ asked him

"Yeah. Look at the demarcation line of the earth here, where the damaged terrain begins." He says and we look

"Yeah, what is that?" I asked

"I've got a pretty good hunch. Back in an hour." He says and leaves

"Huh. I wonder what Reid's doing." Rossi says

"I know. He's been on my mind, too." JJ agreed, "Have you talked to him?" She asked me

"A little bit ago. He seems to be doing ok." I tell her and she gives my hand a comforting squeeze.

"Ironic, isn't it?" Rossi asks

"What?" I asked him

"How eventually we become parents to our parents." He says and there was a tap on the window and we see Emily, "Must be time for the profile."

* * *

"The person we're looking for is targeting victims of high moral character, manipulating them into killing themselves, marking them, and then disposing of the bodies in secondary locations." Emily tells the department

"All the victims crossed in some way with the homeless community here in Tampa." Rossi says

"The killer may be homeless himself or possibly connected to the charitable outreach community." JJ adds

"We believe this person is a loner. Evidence found on the victims indicates he may himself be a burn victim." Walker mentioned

"The killer left substantial DNA and other trace evidence at two of the crime scenes. This indicates either he's sloppy, he's not in the system, or he just doesn't care." Tara pointed out

"The last possibility is the most concerning. It means he's resigned himself to being caught eventually and already has an end game in mind." I said

"The secondary disposal sites are located in areas where the surrounding landscape has been disturbed in some way." Rossi tell them

"It's possible the unsub is making a statement about the damage mankind is doing to the Earth. The victims may have been placed there on purpose as symbolic offerings." Emily points out

"This could explain why the unsub forces the victims to kill themselves. The hand that defiled the Earth is turned on itself." Walker says

"It could also explain why he's marking people of exceptionally high moral character. In ancient societies, only the purest of mind and spirit were offered up as sacrifices." I mention

"So the unsub may believe that what he is doing is actually both noble and morally right. In philosophy it's called the doctrine of double effect, which states that it is permissible to do something harmful if it results in a greater good." Walker says

"The most recent killing shows a disturbing uptick in violence and the killer's willingness to take risks." Rossi told them

"This could be a sign he's devolving, and with this unraveling, the danger to the public is likely to escalate. Thank you." Emily finished

* * *

"It's what I thought." Luke says walking into the room, "Heavy concentration of silky clay mixed with gravel and rock. And it's not a natural soil composite for the area, but it was present at all 3 disposal sites."

"Which tells us what?" Emily asked him

"Well, it's used to repair sinkholes. And all of the victims, they were placed just inside the transition area."

"You hear that, Spence?" I asked him over the phone

 _"I did, and, you know, it fits with our profile about the unsub making a statement about environmental ruin. You know, sinkholes have been on the rise, actually, worldwide, due to urbanization, drilling, fracking."_

"Garcia?" Emily asked

 _"She's here. Feed the beast."_

"What can you tell us about sinkholes in Florida?" Emily asked her

 _"I can tell you that... Jinkies. Tread lightly, there are a gazillion of them. Over 500 in the Tampa Bay area alone since records started being kept in 1974. Why are you asking?"_

"We think our unsub is taking his victims to current or former sinkholes."

"We're trying to anticipate which one he might pay a visit to next." I tell her

 _"Guys, are they cover-subsidence or cover-collapse sinkholes?"_ Spencer asked

"Given their shallow layer of repair, I'd say they're cover-subsidence." Luke answered

"I'd chime in with an opinion as well if I knew what the hell you two were talking about."  
Rossi says and I chuckle

 _"Cover-subsidence is where the ground very gradually begins to form a depression, usually circular, over the course of weeks or months."_ Spencer tells us

"Cover-collapse is the nasty one. That's when the earth just suddenly goes out from under your feet like a trapdoor." Luke added

"We can find out for sure what these 3 were, but does it matter?" Emily asked

 _"It might. I'm basically just looking for parameters to narrow down the search. I did a latitude/longitude study of a few locations, but I couldn't find a numerical pattern. Let me try a few more algorithms, though."_ Spencer says and I shook my head

"Maybe the date that the sinkholes formed means something or the dates they were repaired. I don't know. I'm just grasping at straws." Luke mentions

"We don't want to keep you from your algorithms, kid. Get back to us if you find something." Rossi told him

 _"All right. Thank you, bye."_

"Your husband." Rossi tells me and I smile at him shaking my head

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I hang up the phone then look towards my mom's room and get up walking over, "Mom?" I asked knocking on the door but didn't get an answer so I opened the door and walked in, "Mom? Mom. Mom, can you hear me?" I asked walking over to the bathroom door that was closed, "Mom, answer me." I said but didn't get an answer so I turned to walk out and noticed the cabinet door was opened where I had her meds so I went back to the bathroom door opening it seeing her dumping the medicine down the toilet, "Mom, don't do that! Don't do that! Stop that!" I tell her trying to grab the bottles from her hand

"Leave me alone! Stop, stop! Give it back to me! Ohh!" She argues and I get the bottle from her then she grabbed another one

"Stop!" I say to her trying to grab that one too

"Aah! Give it to me! Stay away from me! Ohh! Aah!" She yells as we fall over and I try to get it out of her hand, "Leave me alone!"

"What are you doing? Give it to me!"

"Leave me alone! For God's sake, leave me alone!" She yells running out of the bathroom

"Mom! No! Stop!" I go after her before she can reach the door, "Why did you do that? Why?!"

"I hate that stuff! And I hate you!"

"Do you have any idea what I went through to get that medicine, Mom? It can't be replaced. Do you realize that?" I asked her

"Good! I want to go back home."

"This is home." I tell her

"No, it isn't! I want to go back to where I was before!"

"You said you hated Houston!" I mention

"No, I want to go back to where I was before before! Before!" She yells taking her hands from me and slapped me across the face. When I looked back up at her she raised her hand again but stopped then moved past me heading back into the bedroom

* * *

"Well, that was just what I needed." She says coming into the living room

"Hmm?"

"My nap. It really did the trick. Oh, my goodness. My scrapbook. Oh, I've been keeping this since I don't know when. I have no idea how it got here, but... She says grabbing it and walked over to me, "Ohh, honey. What did you do to your face? It's all red." She says looking at my slap mark.

"Probably bumped into something."

"Oh, you need to be more careful. It's really awful." She says

"I will."

"You know, you always were so clumsy. Smart as a whip. But I used to call you Crash. You were always bumping into things." She tells me then sat in the chair across the room and opened her scrapbook.

* * *

"Honey, what is this?" My mom asked me pointing to the scrapbook

"Oh, it's a ticket stub."

"What is that?" She asked

"A ticket stub? When you go to a concert or a movie you get a ticket so they'll let you in." I tell her sitting next to her and she turned the page, "You saw Elvis in concert?" I asked her

"I don't know. I did many things when I was young. Who is he?"

"Elvis Presley. He's a very famous rock and roll singer." I tell her and she turned the page

"Ah! Oh, my gosh! I'd almost forgotten about this."

"What is that?" I asked her

"When you were a little boy, I took you to the circus, and after that, all you could talk about is you wanted to be a tightrope walker when you grew up."

"I thought I wanted to be a magician." I mentioned

"You did. That was later. This was first."

"Really? I don't remember that at all." I said

"Oh, no wonder. You were no more than 3 or 4."

"What's on its head?" I asked her

"It's you!" She laughed

"That's me?"

"Yes. You glued that on there yourself."

"Why did I do that?" I asked

"Well, here." She grabs my hand, "See this little scar right there on your wrist? That's from where you fell when you were trying to balance on our backyard fence. Oh, you were so determined to make it the whole way. And I'll never forget looking out the kitchen window, watching you out there as you were trying to make a balancing pole from a broomstick. Calculating how long it should be and making adjustments. My little budding genius."

"Did I ever make it?" I ask

"No. And you were heartbroken. You see, the problem was, you were so smart, you were so brilliant, you really believed that you could solve anything if you just put your brain into it. But that tightrope... No, you just couldn't figure that out. But you were meant for bigger things, Spencer. Now, how do you tell that to a 4-year-old boy?" She asked and kissed my hand."

"You know, Liz actually has a book similar to this started for Haley and Alexander." I tell her

"Really?" She asked and I nodded, "Can I see it?"

"Yeah, of course." I get up and walk over to the book shelf pulling it out then walked back over and sat down opening it to the first page, "It's got when me and her got married," I say showing the pictures of our wedding day, "When she was pregnant with Alexander and when he was born," I showed her those pictures, ones with the 3 of us, the team and us after his birth, Hotch, Jack, Elizabeth and Alexander together, ann all the ones of him up to now, "Her pregnancy with Haley and after." I said and looked at her seeing her smile at the pictures, "And some photos up to now, even ones when we visited you." I tell her and she looked at the photos of all of us together.

"Their so beautiful honey." She tells me and I smile, "I'm so happy you found someone and have a family. I've always wanted grand kids. Where are they?" She asked

"Our nanny Amanda has them right now but they'll be back later."

"You know I never told you that I feel so blessed that Haley's middle name is my name." She tells me and I held her hand.

"I know, it was Liz's idea when she came up with the name. For the two people in our lives that we love and care about. Aside from all the others." I laughed and she smiled.

"Elizabeth is a wonderful woman, she makes my baby boy happy." She tells me putting her other hand on mine, "Don't ever lose her."

"I won't."

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Our current profile of the unsub doesn't apply to his earlier killings. Those had no ritual and a strong sexual component." Walker points out

"Ok, so something happened in the 10 months between here and here. Something big. Because when the unsub emerged to start killing again, his victimology and M.O. had done a complete 180." Emily mentions

"We think he may have burned himself, right? Maybe he was in some sort of accident during that time." I said

"What kind of accident?" Walker asked

"No idea." I tell him and he looked at me, "What? Luke doesn't have a monopoly on grasping at straws."

"Well, we know sinkholes suddenly became important. Let's start there." Walkers says walking over to the other board and the phone rings

"Garcia, please tell us you found something." Emily tells her

 _"Did I ever, and right in the 10-month sweet spot between murders. Turns out, one not-so-fine morning, April 2015, a sinkhole opened up in St. Petersburg, swallowing the humble home of Fred and Marnie Jarvis, with them in it."_

"Did they survive?" Emily asked her

 _"Heavens, no. They got sucked into the bowels of the Earth, never to be seen again. However, that had an adult son living with them at the time, Bryce. He was able to scramble out before the whole place went bye-bye."_

"Why do I have a sense there's more to the Jarvis family history?" I asked

 _"Because there is, and the road is strange, so set your tasers to weird. It turns out the Jarvises ran some sort of discount spiritual center out of their two-car garage. It was a mish-mash of, I don't know, like old testament fire and brimstone mixed with Halloween goblins and snake oil commerce."_

"Was Bryce involved with the family business?" Emily asked her

 _"Mm-mmm. Bryce hated his parents, his parents loathed him. Back in the day, local child services had the Jarvis residence on speed dial. There was rumors of sexual abuse. It was never proven."_

"But he continued to live with them as an adult?" Walker asked

 _"Yeah. Bryce could not hold down a job. He had no place to go. Anyway, a couple of years ago, Fred and Marnie got put in county lockup for 6 months."_

"On what charge?" I asked

 _"Fraud. It turns out that the Jarvises were selling ointment that they claimed when spread liberally on one's face and arms and hands, would repel Satan. And, yes, you heard that correctly. No need to adjust your headsets. While they were locked up, Bryce had a nervous breakdown. He spent time in the state hospital."_

"Let me guess. Shortly after his release, the murders of the 6 young women started." I point out

 _"Exactly two weeks later."_

"Do we know where Bryce is now?" Emily asked her

 _"No. That's what made me stand up and pay attention. Because when I can't find somebody, that means that someone doesn't want to be findable, and I'm gonna keep searching."_

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Hey. I made you some tea. How are you feeling?" I asked my mom walking into her room and she just looked at me

"Who are you?" She asked me and my heart ached

"Spencer. Your son." I tell her and she just stared at me, "It's been a really long day. You should probably sleep now." I tell her and walk out of the room closing the door then walked over to my desk sitting down then it hit me as I looked at my book so I pulled out my phone, "Emily."

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"What is it, Reid?" I hear Emily say as we walked into the room

 _"I think our unsub is trying to literally send his victims to hell."_

"What are you talking about?" I asked him

"Sinkholes don't just exist in a geologic context. They also have a symbolic history. In Mexico they're called cenotes, and the ancient Mayans believed them to be portals to the underworld. They even made human sacrifices to certain cenotes."

"The suicide aspect of the unsub's ritual makes sense now. That is a sin, right? And you can't go to hell unless you've sinned." Walker mentions walking over to the board

"In Bryce's mind, the devil opened up the Earth and swallowed his parents. Now this is his way of showing his gratitude." Emily added

"That's why he must be choosing especially virtuous victims, people who have tickets to a front-row seat in heaven." Rossi says

"Until Bryce stamped them null and void and sent them in the other direction." I add

 _"There's more. I think the mark he's making on his victims' arms is a rough rendering of the Ophiuchus star cluster."_

"Which is?"

"The Ophiuchus star cluster is the constellation of the devil. 3 of the disposal sites correlates with a 3-star section of the constellation." I tell her and they look at me, "What? Oh come you know who I'm married to." I said indicating to the phone and Rossi smiled

"So he could be using that as a guide to dumping the bodies." Emily points out

"Is there a discernible pattern of progression?" Walker asked

 _"It's hard to say for sure, but my guess is he'll be heading to a sinkhole in the vicinity of latitude 27.75, longitude minus 82.25."_

"Meaning here, here, or here." Walker points out on the map

"We'll split the team. Let's move" Emily says

* * *

"Hey. Can I try some?" JJ asked Rossi on the jet indicating to his scotch

"Help yourself." He hands her the glass

"I'm a white wine kind of gal, but..." She takes a sip and I laugh at the expression on her face, "Whoo, yeah, that just woke up my back molars, thank you."

"Like the best things in life, an acquired taste." He says and reaches it over to me

"Oh no I'm good." I smiled and he just shrugged

"Do you think Spence is making a mistake bringing his mom home?" JJ asked us

"It's hard to say. Not long ago I told him he shouldn't waste the precious time he has left with her. I guess he took it to heart." Rossi says and she looked at me

"You already know my answer, if it's what he thinks is best then I support it. Plus it might be good for her to be around family. You never know how long you have them for." I said and looked down feeling her put her hand on mine

"I worry about him, you know?" She asked

"Yeah, it'll be fine. If it proves too difficult, he'll adjust." Rossi tells her

"I just have a bad feeling..."

"About what?" I asked her

"I don't even know. I can't put my finger on it."

"JJ, we have enough problems in this life that are real and present. Let's not bring imagined ones to the table, too."

"Ok. I will drink to that." She says and he and hands her the glass

"Oh, in spirit." She tells him and I laugh.

* * *

I get home and saw a light shine from Diana's room so I set my bag down then walk down the hallway and see her laying in bed asleep with Spencer passed out in the chair next to it. I smiled then walked over to him and grabbed the book he was holding setting it on the table next to him, "Spence, honey." I whispered waking him up and he looked at me, "Hey you."

"Hi" He says with a smile then looked at his mom, I grabbed his hand and indicated him to be quiet then we walked out of the room after he turned the light off.

"The kids asleep?" I asked him

"Yeah. Amanda dropped them off 3 hours ago. Alexander went right to sleep, Haley took a while." He smiled

"You're to amazing you know that?" I asked him wrapping my arms around his shoulders and he put his hands on my hips

"I have an amazing wife that inspires me."

"Hmm who would that be?" I asked with a smirk and he kissed me.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too, and if you want I can show you just how much." I tell him and he kissed me again

"That's tempting, but first I should tell you that I found a new nurse for her."

"Sweetie that's great." I tell him

"It is..."

"But.." I said

"My mom dumped some of the medicine down the toilet."

"Oh crap." I whispered, "Does that mean?"

"I have to Liz. It helps her."

I sighed and closed my eyes, "You know I don't like this."

"I know. I know, but I'll be back before you know it."

I rolled my eyes, "Alright but you better take me to that bedroom right now to make it up to me Dr. Reid." I tell him and he lifted me up causing me to wrap my legs around his waist

"Yes ma'am" He says and I giggled.


	54. Chapter 54

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **A/N: So ahowell1993 you said you hope doesn't go to jail but I'm sorry as much as I hate it I fell like this will really test him and Liz. I hope you all are still enjoying this story.**

"What's wrong?" JJ asked and I see Emily and Rossi walk over to us

"Reid is in jail."

"What?" I asked her

"Jail?" Garcia askd

"In Mexico." Emily tells us _Oh shit_

"What the hell is he doing down there?" JJ asked, "Elizabeth?" She asked me but I just shrugged. I knew this was bite him in the ass.

"I don't know. I didn't talk to him. The call came in to Cruz from their lead investigator." Emily says

"What's he being held for?" Luke asked

"Drug possession, with intent to distribute." Rossi answered

"What type of drugs?" I asked

"Cocaine and heroin." _What?_

"Oh, my God." JJ says and put her hand on my arm

"This can't be happening." Garcia added

"We need Lewis and Walker here asap." Emily tells Garcia

"Yeah. I can call them. I can do that."

"Elizabeth." Emily says to me and I follow her up to her office and she shut the door, "I need to know right now if you knew he was down there." She tells me and I sighed

"Yes."

"Wh...why didn't you tell us? What is he doing down there?" She asked me

"Getting medicine for Diana." I tell her and she leans on her desk

"Oh my god."

"Look I didn't like it and I tried to talk him out of it but he told me it was working, it was helping. Then she flushed some down the toilet so he...had to go get more. I'm sorry I didn't say anything." I explained

"Do you know how this makes you look?" She asked me

"I do."

She sighed and crossed her arms, "Look, I don't need both of you getting in trouble for this so this stays between us because I could get in a lot of trouble for it, but you can't say anything to anyone about why he was down there, you can't be an acccesory." She says and I look at her in shock

"But why..."

"Because of Alexander and Haley." She tells me and I closed my eyes.

"I'm so sorry I put you in this position Emily." I said and she walked over to me pulling me into a hug

"It's gonna be ok. Let's go figure this out."

* * *

 _"This has got to be Scratch. He was laying low. Now we know why."_ Tara says to me, Emily, Rossi and Luke over the phone as we sit on the jet

"Crossing the border as a fugitive is a huge risk." Luke points out

"The reward is greater. He's been punishing the team. Now his target is Reid."

 _"Peter Lewis dropped off the map after attacking Tara's family. Maybe he's been hiding in Mexico this whole time."_ Walker mentioned

"We also have to consider this isn't related to him." Emily says

"Who else would it be?" I asked

"Drug cartels. Could have threatened Reid and used him as a mule." Luke replied

"Agreed. This could simply be a case of bad luck. Reid was in the wrong place at the wrong time." Rossi says

 _"Elizabeth, Spence's mom is ok. The home nurse he hired said all is stable."_ JJ says and I sigh in relief

 _"Oh, thank the stars."_ Garcia said

"What about Haley, Alexander and Amanda?" I asked her

 _"Their fine as well Amanda is gonna keep them until you get back."_

"Thanks JJ."

"How long did he say he'd be gone?" Luke asked me

"Uh, 3 days."

"That sounds reasonable. After the Palm Springs case, Reid said he had to get back to Houston to talk to his mom's doctor." Emily tells them and I look at her

 _"Well, Houston is only a 5-hour drive from the border."_ Tara pointed out

 _"Usually I can read him. I can't believe I didn't pick up on any of this."_ JJ mentioned

 _"He didn't want you to, and there's no way you would have guessed he'd end up in Mexico."_ Walker told her

 _"The question is, why did he go down there?"_ Tara asked

"And why does he have narcotics?" Rossi adds

 _"Yeah, exactly. That... that... He wouldn't... he wouldn't do that. I'm not gonna share any secrets I'm not supposed to, but those drugs were planted on him."_ Garcia says

 _"Absolutely. But there's something bigger in play. That's why he crossed the border and kept it a secret. There's something he didn't want to share with any of you."_ Walker brought up

"Ok, so what would make him risk everything?" Emily asked looking at me

 _"His mom."_ JJ answered

 _"Yeah, but she's here and she's safe. Oh, wait. Cruz just sent me the arresting report. Hold, please. Translating now. O... k. It says here that Reid was involved in a high-speed chase."_ Garcia tells us

"What? He hardly ever drives." I point out

"None of this sounds like him. It says he was wearing jeans, he was really confused. And... According to the arresting officer, he was really high on something." Garcia says

"What?" I asked

 _"No, no, he wouldn't do that. Not after what happened with Tobias Hankel."_ JJ pointed out

"Who's that?" Luke asked

"An offender with D.I.D. who kidnapped and drugged Spencer." I told him

 _"When was this?"_ Tara asked

 _"10 years ago."_ JJ tells her

"What does the report say about the intent to distribute?" I asked Garcia

 _"Uh, it says he was charged with constructive possession, and in the duffel bag there was cocaine, cash, and 3 bricks of heroin."_

"Ok, we'll be there in less than an hour. Dave, were you able to reach Jack Garrett?" Emily asked him

"He's deep in a case, but he promised to do what he can."

"Ok. We're gonna need all the help we can get." She says and we share a look

* * *

"Thanks for calling us." Rossi tells the officer as we walk through the jail

"A U.S. fed in our custody isn't something we see every day."

"We appreciate you letting us talk to him. Have you gotten his tox screen panels back yet?" Emily asked him

"No."

"You will need to expedite that. We have cause to believe that Agent Reid was drugged."

"He was definitely high and driving like a maniac with $20,000 worth of heroin in his possession. Both of which put my officers at risk. You're in our jurisdiction. The rules are different here."

"We understand." Emily tells him

"You said you're his wife?" The officer asked me and I nodded my head, "I'm gonna need you to fill out some paperwork." He told me

"Oh um ok." I said and looked at Emily who nodded then I followed another officer.

After I got done I walked over to the others, "You're missing time, aren't you?" I hear Emily ask Spencer

"It's peeking out. It's coming in flashes." He says and looked at me

"And you've been drugged." Emily adds

"Yeah, but I didn't take it myself."

"Well, of course you didn't, Spencer." She says

"We're thinking it might be Scratch." I tell him

"Scratch."

"Excuse me." Luke says as his phone rang and walked away

* * *

"Hey, the team sent this." Luke tells him walking back over, "Is this the doctor you met?"

"Yeah."

"Her alias is Rosa Medina. Her real name is Nadie Ramos. Garcia tracked her to a motel just outside of town."

"Does that sound familiar?" I asked him

"No. We'll need to take Castenada and his officers with us." Emily pointed out

"You want company here?" I ask

"No, I'm... I'm ok." He says and I nod my head, the others walk away but Spencer stopped me, "Liz, I'm sorry." He says and I touch his hand

"I know. It's gonna be okay." I tell him with a small smile then followed the others

* * *

"Manager says he hasn't seen her all day." Castenada tells us at the motel

"If she's left town, this won't be good for Reid." Emily says and we get to the door, the one officer says something in Spanish then opens the door and we walk in Officer in then we see Rosa on the floor and Luke knelt down

"Damn, she's dead. This isn't good." He says and I sighed feeling Emily put her hand on my shoulder.

* * *

"This doesn't look good for your friend." Castenada tells me and Rossi when he walks over

"Come on. We both know these things could have been planted in here just as the drugs could have been planted in the trunk."

"Framed for drugs. Framed for murder. You're not even considering the obvious?" He asked us

"You wouldn't either if you knew Spencer Reid." I tell him

"We've both got a job to do. I'll get all this processed."

"And we'll continue to fight to prove he's innocent." Rossi says and I nod as Luke walked over

"Spencer's stuff was everywhere. If they run DNA, he'll be all over this room. Maybe even on the victim." I point out

"The coroner counted over 25 stab wounds." Luke says

"There's still no sign of the knife?" Emily asked

"No."

"We've got a disorganized crime scene with the offender aware enough to take the murder weapon with them. It doesn't add up." She mentioned

"Unless it was a drug-induced kill. The unsub could have freaked out and taken off with the knife." Luke pointed out

"Reid told Castenada he was chasing someone. It could have been the killer." Rossi said

"Yeah. Well, if they took the knife with them, they could have dumped it in the desert. And Reid's got a nasty cut on his hand. It could be from the same blade." Luke says

"He didn't do this." I mention and Luke put his hand on my shoulder

"I know. But Scratch has done one hell of a job making it look like he did."

* * *

"We know you didn't do this." I tell Spencer as we stand in his cell

"How did it happen?"

"She was stabbed, multiple times. It looked personal." Luke told him

"We got the results of your blood work." Castenada says walking into the cell and Spencer grabbed my hand, "There's cocaine and heroin in your system." He says and I sighed

"What else?" Emily asked him

"He was in possession of cocaine and heroin when he was arrested. I found what I need."

"No, I need a full tox screen panel. We're looking for scopolamine." Emily told him

"That'll take longer."

"I don't care. I need it."

"You were given a speed ball. The opiates block the dopamine. That's why thing go from clear to hazy. The combination of the drugs causes a dissociative state and explains the memory loss." Luke says to Spencer

"Are you coming down now?" I asked him

"I think so."

"Do you think you could do a cognitive interview?" I ask

"I'll try."

"Do you have a quiet room we can use?" Emily asked Castenada

"Yes. There were 5 of these in your bag at the motel. You recognize them?" Castenada asked Spencer holding up the vials of medicine for Diana, "What is it?" He asked Spencer but he stayed quiet, "I'm gonna run it through the lab." the Officer says and left

"Whatever's in those vials, I was giving it to my mom. That's the only thing I'm sure of." Spencer told them.

* * *

"How's he doing?" Rossi asked and I turned my head to see Emily came out of the room she was in with Spencer

"He's made some breakthroughs, but I'm not sure how helpful they'll be." She says then looked at us, "What is it?"

"They just charged Reid with the murder of Nadie Ramos." Luke tells her

* * *

"We can't get him out of here, can we?" Luke asked as we stood in the hall away from everyone

"I don't know how." Rossi says

"He didn't kill her." I point out

"If all I had to go on was the evidence, I would swear he did. But knowing Reid, hearing the cognitive..." Rossi starts to say

"Yes, he said there was another person in that motel room, but..." Emily said pulling out her phone

 _"Who has the knife?"_ I hear Emily asked Spencer, _"Who is stabbing Rosa?"_

 _"I don't know. It's in my hand."_

 _"You're trying to stop the killer."_

"Right now this is just more evidence against him." She adds

* * *

"Spence?" I asked walking into his cell, "A little good news. Backup is here." I tell him as Matt and Clara walk in as well

"Hey, Spencer." Matt says to him

"Hey. Thank you for coming."

"Yeah, of course. Jack and me are finishing up a case in Costa Rica, so we hopped on a commercial plane to get here." Clara says

"We're trying to stop your transfer to El Diablo." Matt adds

"Do you think it's possible?" Spencer asked walking up to me and grabbed my hand.

"Yes. Lab reports on the vials came back. Some of what was in there hasn't been approved by the FDA, but there aren't any illegal substances." Clara explained

"That's great news." I tell him

"Is there anything else you remember about your time here?" Clara asked him

"I remember what happened to the vials at home. My mom threw most of them out."

"So that's why you were here, to get more." Clara pointed out

"It must be."

"Well, you're off the hook for that. There was no contraband involved." Matt says

"Yeah, but we were still looking at the planted drug and murder charges, which could keep you here for a long time."

"So what can we do to delay the transfer?" I asked Clara

"You said that you met Nadie, who calls herself Rosa, in Houston. Why didn't she just give you the vials in the U.S.?"

"I don't know. I don't know. But she helped us and I trusted her. I was right to. I still believe that." He says and I give his hand a gentle squeeze

"Well, she convinced you to cross the border multiple times. She had you risk your life." Matt mentioned

"Because she must have had something to lose, too." Clara adds

"Like family." I said

"We need to know more about her." Clara tells him

"Well, what was in those vials?" He asked and Matt pulled out a paper

"Yeah. There are some nootropic compounds like Ampalex, uh, but also some more natural stuff... Coral calcium, Jimson weed, coconut oil, a variety of vitamins... B12, D3."

"Where are we right now?" Spencer asked

"Matamoros, Northern Mexico." Matt told him

"Jimson weed, otherwise known as the Devil's snare, originated in Mexico, but its natural growing region is further north or south of the border."

"Now, that sounds like you." I tell him and he gave me a small smile

"So it isn't from here." Clara says

"Then where'd she get it?" Matt asked as I pull out my phone

"Garcia, we've got some questions." I tell her

"Hey, Penelope." Matt greeted

 _"Oh, my God. It's the dulcet tones of Matt Simmons. Are you there to save the day?"_ She asked him

"I'm trying. Clara's here, too."

 _"Knowing we have you guys as backup is providing me some much needed hope, and I work better this way."_

"Hey, lady, we're trying to catch up on a few things." Clara tells her

 _"Shoot it at me."_

"Where is Nadie Ramos from?" Clara asked

 _"Mm, she lives with her family just north of Matamoros."_

"That must be where she got the Jimson weed." I point out

 _"What's weird is she crosses the border like a lot."_

"Why?" I asked

 _"Well, she works at that clinic in Houston. She also helps at a local healthcare center. I can't find a visa on her, which is double weird. And in finishing the weird trifecta, there's a social security number on her W-2 form."_

"Social security? She's an American citizen?" Matt asked

 _"Yeah. She has dual citizenship. She was born in Houston, and her family had to move back to Mexico. She lives with them and she works in the U.S."_

"Well, this changes everything and we need to talk to the consulate." I tell them and Castenada walked into the cell with another officer

"It's time for his transfer." He tells us and I put my other hand on Spencer's arm

"We've had a break in the case. The victim was also American, and that calls for extradition." I tell him

"I've got orders. Sorry." He says and the officer cuffed Spencer making me let go of his hand and my heart sank

* * *

"With the victim having dual citizenship, we now have concurrent jurisdiction. It was my understanding that the official order to extradite SSA Spencer Reid would be evaluated." Emily says on her phone as I watched them walk my husband away and Clara wrapped her arm around my shoulder as Spencer looked back at me, "I understand. Thank you." She hangs up, "They're taking it to their brass. Go get him." She tells Luke and I sighed in relief.

* * *

"We're working on all channels here. Matt Cruz is on with the consulate right now. We could get an immediate extradition, but it's just the beginning." Emily tells Spencer as the officers uncuffed him and he pulled me into a hug kissing my head

"I really screwed up and I'm so sorry." He tells her and looked at me.

"It was for the right reason." I say to him

"I don't know what happened, but I know I didn't kill anyone."

"We do, too." Emily told him then Matt and Clara walked into the cell with Castenada

"Hey. They approved the extradition." Clara tells us

"Effective immediately." Matt adds and I hug Spencer fighting tears then he holds my hand as we walk out of the cell.

* * *

"I was just thanking Clara for helping us." Emily says to Rossi as we got on the jet

"Yeah, and I told her, when one of us is in trouble, we all are. You guys have any other problems with this, we happen to know some people." Clara mentions

"Love that." I tell her

"I can't thank you enough." Spencer tells Luke

"Hey, it's all good, man. I'm just glad you sound like yourself again."

"Me, too."

"Me three." I add and Spencer smiled at me

"Ok, so here's the deal that Cruz made. We can stop by the BAU when we land, but then we'll drive you into the district and take you to the federal jail. Since you are under investigation for murder, these cuffs are going to have to stay on until you are arraigned, but you're not a flight risk up here." She says and uncuffed him

"Thank you. Circulation's a wonderful thing." He says then pulled me to him

"And the moment there's a chance for outside witnesses, these go back on." She adds

"Have you talked to anyone about the legal team?" Clara asked

"Yeah. Stephen Walker made some calls to the BAP to get the best we can." Rossi told her

"The BAP's a great group. You'll be in good hands." Matt says to Spencer

"Mark my words, kid. This whole thing's been a nightmare, but we're gonna get you out of this." Rossi mentioned and Luke's phone chimed

Prints and samples from the crime scene came back to our home lab. They've found proof that backs up your cognitive. There was a third person in that room." He says and I sighed

"You're not out of the woods, but I swear we won't lose you." Emily tells him

"Not ever." I add and he kissed my head.

* * *

We get off the elevator at the BAU and see the rest of the team walk over to us, "Hi." JJ says to him as she hugged him, "Oh. I'm so sorry. It's only because there are other people around." She tells him indicating to his cuffed hands

"It's ok."

"We know you didn't do anything wrong." JJ mentioned

"But I should have told you guys I was going there. I never..." He stopped and looked at me, "..never imagined in a million years it would have turned out like this."

"No one thought that this could have happened. Look, you're not in this alone anymore. Ok? No secrets." She said

"Deal."

"My turn." Garcia says and moved to Spencer, "Come here, you. Oh, my God. Your color's better. All I had to look at was that mug shot, and it had me really worried."

"Yeah, we all were." Tara told him

"Glad you're back." Walker added

"Me, too. How's my mom doing?" Spencer asked

"She's fine. You don't need to worry about her, I promise." JJ told him

"I can't help it."

"Trust me. Garcia had meals delivered to your mom almost every night." I tell him

"And that nurse you got is amazing...Cassie." Garcia says

"Cassie, she's great."

"I brought the boys by. Your mom really loved them." JJ mentioned and I smiled, "Amanda was there too with Alexander and Haley who are both doing just fine." She tells us and I nodded

"I bet she did." Spencer said and I smiled at him as we walked him into the bullpen while the others hung back, "Hey," He says stopping me, "I am so sorry for putting you through this I just..."

"Don't, don't apologize. What you did, you did for your mom and I love you for that, but we will get through this because I'm not ready to lose you yet Spencer Reid."

"Me neither. I love you so much." He says and I kissed him

"I love you too." I replied and a tear fell out but I wiped it away

"Don't cry."

"I can't help it. I may have meant what I said but I'm still scared." I tell him and he grabbed my hands with his from under the coat.

"Me too, but no matter what I'm coming back to you."

"Promise?" I asked him and he kissed me

"I promise."


	55. Chapter 55

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **JJ POV...**

I stood int the bull pen looking at Spence's desk, I still couldn't keep my mind of seeing him walk out of that elevator handcuffed looking like he had been through hell, "Hey." Garcia says breaking me out of my thoughts

"Hey. I still can't wrap my head around it." I tell her looking back at his desk

"I know."

"I, uh, I took a change of clothes to the precinct for him." I say to her

"Did you see him?" She asked me

"Uh-uh. I left it with Emily. She said he was finally getting a little sleep. Now part of me's glad I didn't see him locked up. I don't think I could take it." I said with an ache in my chest just picturing it

"Ohh, our sweet, sweet boy wonder."

"He's strong. He's gonna be ok." Rossi informed us walking over, "We got a new swab from him and we're running it now."

"Well, what happened to the comprehensive tox panel they ran in Mexico?" I asked him

"With the red tape between jurisdictions, who knows if or when we'll get those results.

"He should be here. We need him. His mom needs him. His mother. How's his mother?" Garcia asked

"Well, she cried at first after me ad Elizabeth told her. Said it was all her fault he was even down there. But later she kept asking when Spencer would be home."

"Well, maybe it's a blessing she can forget." Rossi pointed out and honestly I agreed

"How's Elizabeth doing?" Garcia asked

"Same as the rest of us, only worse. Diana told me she's been sleeping in Alexander's room with him or on the couch."

"I can imagine, she probably doesn't want to sleep in their bed without him."

"First what happened with Hotch and now this I just..." I started to say but stopped trying to hold tears. Elizabeth is like a sister to me and it hurts to see how much pain she's in. Garcia rubbed my back and I smiled at her

"What's our next step?" She asked Rossi

"Well, getting the kid home on bail pending trial."

"Ok. That's a good baby step. I can focus on that." Garcia says

"And I'm ready, willing, and able to post that bail no matter how high they set it." HE adds and Garcia hugs him

"I love you so hard." She tells him and her phone went off, "Hmm. Well, crime never sleeps."

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Hey." I say to Spence walking into the holding cells

"You should be in the office."

"I'm heading to the jet I just wanted to see you first. You ok?" I asked him

"Yeah. I'm ok. How's my mom doing?" He asked getting up and walking over

"She's doing well. JJ's been by to visit every day since your arrest to check on her and make sure I'm doing ok." I gave a light chuckle and he out his hand on mine, "Me and her explained everything to her. Cassie's been great. That makes a big difference. Amanda actually moved into the pool house so she can help more when I need it.

"How are Haley and Alexander?" He asked me

"Their ok, I tried to explain to Alexander that daddy was teaching a class so he'll be gone for a bit but he's still to young to understand, same with Haley. I can tell they miss you though."

"I miss them too, so much. I'm such an idiot."

"Don't, Spencer, don't. You were trying to help your mother." I reassured him holding his hand

"I fell right into Scratch's trap."

"He won't win." I defended

"He already has. He put me in here, forced Hotch and Jack to go into hiding." He tells me

"He only won the battle, not the war. You didn't do anything wrong."

"You and I both know that doesn't matter. All that matters is what the prosecutor can prove, and Scratch has stacked the deck against me. Even the FBI's abandoned me."

"I know. But we'll keep fighting." I tell him

"We don't even have a lawyer."

"About that...Emily has a friend, Fiona Duncan. She's known her forever. You'd like her. Anyway, now she's one of the best defense attorneys in D.C. Emily would like to reach out to her about representing you." I informed him

"I really, I appreciate it, but her helping me like that can destroy her reputation at the Bureau."

"She says it's her battle, her choice. Please, Spence. Let her help you." I begged and he ran his thumb across my hand and nodded, "Thank you." I said and sighed, "We are gonna get you out of this. I promise." I say then I kissed him feeling my heart break in many different ways, this was my husband, father of my children, my best friend and the other half of my soul. All I could do was try to keep a brave face but inside everything hurt seeing him like this, "I better get going. I love you."

"I love you too." He says and kissed me once more then I walked away not wanting to let go of his hand then turned to walk out and made it out into the hall before wiping the tears away.

* * *

"Not to be critical or anything, but this place could really use a splash of color." Garcia pointed out on the jet

"Really? I find the neutral tones soothing." Tara told her

"Yeah, and they're a great background for when you're on the big screen." JJ adds

"You mean I'm the splash of color? Stop it."

"I've got Emily calling in." Rossi informed all of us and Emily came on the screen, "How's the kid doing?"

"He's hanging in. I'm meeting with an attorney today. I'm hoping she'll take his case." She tell him

"That's great."

"It feels weird to not be on the jet." Emily mentioned and I chuckled

"Well, we've got everything here covered. Garcia's keeping your seat warm. You just stay focused on Reid and get us an update when you can." Rossi tells her

"Will do." Emily says and hangs up

"All right, let's get down to business. Garcia, what have you got for us?" He asked her

"Just this. Two drivers and two pedestrians."

"Well, the victimology on this case is going to be difficult." I point out

"It's just hard to know who the unsub's intended victims are. And the drivers, the D.A.'s considering murder charges in both cases, not to mention the psychological damage this unsub's inflicted or the pedestrians, or both." Tara says

"Any connection between the drivers and the people they hit?" Luke asked

"Just what we already know. Both drivers have the same kind of vehicle and it happened at the same location. Besides that, nothing. So what does the unsub want?" Garcia asked all of us

"Well, he's causing death and destruction while exerting power and control." JJ mentioned

"And creating a public spectacle." Rossi adds

"Maybe there's some paraphilia there, like an arsonist who likes to watch." Luke pointed out

"If this is about voyeurism, that might make it sexual, and if so, he's not likely to stop." Walker says and Garcia's phone went off

"This just in. One of the drivers, Marta Calderon, she's agreed to an interview."

"All right. JJ, Luke, Garcia, you head to the crash site. A special investigator from the NTSB will meet you there. Tara, Stephen, Elizabeth and I will go straight to the Bradenton P.D." Rossi tells us and I lean my head against the seat looking out the window trying to keep my mind off of everything except the case but seeing my husband in that cell just kept popping into my head, "You ok?" I hear Rossi ask and I look at him

"I'm trying to be." I tell him and he put his hand on mine

"He'll be ok. You both will get through this." He says and I smile at him. That's what I love about Rossi, he's like an uncle to me and I was so grateful to have him in my life, especially after Aaron went into the program.

* * *

The boy I hit, he was only 23. I have a 19-year-old daughter. I can't imagine what his family's going through."

"Marta, I want to try to help you remember by doing something called a cognitive interview. It could help dislodge memories that are stuck right below the surface." I tell her.

"I need answers. What do I have to do?"

"Ok. Just relax, close your eyes." I instructed and she did, "I want you to walk me through that day, exactly as you experienced it. So you leave work to go get in your car. It's parked in the lot outside. Is it where you remember leaving it?" I asked her

"Yes."

"Do you notice anything unusual as you start to drive home?" I ask

"No. I turn on the radio to listen to the news. I'm almost home. But then..." She says and stopped and opened her eyes, "I don't think this is gonna work."

"Marta, what happened to you, it was traumatic. And remembering it, going back to that experience, it's gonna be painful. But this process here with me, this is safe. Do you think you can continue?" I asked her.

"Ok."

"You're in your car, you're driving home, everything seems normal. You're almost home, and then... Something happens. What happens?" I ask

"There's something wrong with the radio. It's changing stations. I'm trying to get it back to my regular station, But it stays on 98.2. I can't change it. Then...the windows."

"What's happening?" I asked

"They're rolling up and down by themselves. And the windshield wipers are going. I... I need to pull over."

"Why don't you?" I ask her

"I can't. I'm hitting the brakes, but the car is speeding up." She says

"What do you do now?"

"I'm running a stop sign. And then the car turns left onto Whitlock Place. I don't know where I'm going. This isn't the way to my house." She informed me and I looked behind me at Walker and Rossi who were observing outside.

"What happens next?"

"I see him." She says

"Todd? The young man you hit?" I asked her

"He was just a kid. I'm screaming for him to get out of the way, but he doesn't even see me coming. I close my eyes, but I hear him hit the car. That sound, ohh... I'll hear it for the rest of my life. I'm so, so, sorry."

"Listen to me." I tell her and held her hand, "You did not cause that accident. You did nothing wrong."

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Spencer, hello." The lady that was in the visiting room greeted as the guard led me in

"Hi."

"Fiona Duncan. Emily speaks very highly of you." She tells me

"You, too. It's nice to meet you."

"I'm sorry meeting under these circumstances." She says to me then faced Emily, "Emily, this is an attorney-client meeting. We'll need privacy."

"Yes, of course. Are you ok?" Emily asked me and I nodded, "All right. Bye." Emily says and left,

"I know you're aware of this, but I need to remind you that everything we discuss is covered by attorney-client privilege. It's confidential. Not even Emily will know what we've discussed and I'm sorry but neither will your wife." Fiona told me as we sat down

"I understand. Thank you."

"Ok. So tell me about what happened down in Mexico." She says to me

"I did not kill her."

"Ok. I'm just asking what happened." She pointed out

"Sadly, I don't know." I defended

"That's a problem. Because I don't need you to be innocent, but I do need you to be able to assist in your own defense."

"There's a lot I don't remember." I told her"

"Ok. I want to be very clear about this. I'm not here to judge you. I'm here to defend you. My goal is a simple one... To keep you out of jail so you can be with your family. But in order to do that, I need a narrative. Your story. If you killed her, I can work with that. But what I can't work with is a client who lies to me. Because those lies will always come back to bite us on the ass. And by us, I mean you. Lying to me could mean the difference between going home or spending the rest of your life in a cage. Do you understand me?" She asked me

"Yes."

"Good. Because I need to know everything. I don't care how bad it makes you look. I need to know." She says

"Ok."

"Let's start with what you're not telling Emily." She tells me and I look at her confused, "You remember more than you're admitting."

"I don't. Honestly, I... I told the Mexican police everything."

"Well, that was very cooperative of you. Too cooperative for someone who has intimate knowledge of the criminal justice system, even someone on drugs." She brought up

"I wasn't on drugs. I was drugged."

"You stole a car?" She asked me

"That's what they told me."

"Did you know there were drugs in the trunk?" She asked

"I don't think so."

"Was Rosa already dead when you took the car?" She asks

"I'm not sure. She was stabbed. She was bleeding." I defended

"Who stabbed her?" She asked me

"I don't know."

"Did you see who did it?" She asked

"There was someone else in the room, but..."

"Man or woman?" She asks

"I don't know because I was drugged. It was all hazy."

"How'd you get blood on your hands?" She asked me and I hesitated for a moment

"I don't know." I defend and I was starting to get a little irritated

"Yes, you do. You cut it. How'd you cut it?"

"I... I cut it on a knife." I told her

"The murder weapon?" She asked

"I think so."

"How many times did you stab her?" She asked me

"I didn't."

"Who did?" She asks

"I don't know. The other person in the room stabbed her. I did not kill her. I think I was trying to stop whoever did. And I'm trying, believe me, I'm trying to remember, but I don't. And I keep pressing this cut trying to trigger something," I said lighty banging mey hand on the table, "but I don't remember anything, and I swear to God I'm telling you the truth." I tell her and she looked at me

"I believe you. If you remember anything, even if it seems inconsequential, call me." She says and handed me her card

"Thank you. Thank you for believing me."

"Don't thank me. This isn't going to be easy."

"What happens now?" I asked her

"Well, you consented to a postponement of your arraignment so you'd have time to find representation, now that you have me, that's what'll happen first. I'll get it calendared as soon as possible."

"And I'll plead not guilty." I point out

"And I'll move to have you released on bail pending trial. After that, we start an uphill battle. The bad news is they have a lot of circumstantial evidence against you."

"Is there any good news?" I asked her after we stand up

"The good news is they don't have a murder weapon."

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"It's a different make and model car. It's newer. A 2016 Schuyler." I point out as me and Rossi walk towards the accident

"Our unsub saw the new wireless foothold, and he's no longer confiding himself to one street."

"I'm not seeing any traffic cameras here." I point out

"So how's he watching?"

"Elizabeth, look." Rossi says and I bend down to look in the car

"Dashboard cam and a mounted smartphone."

"If he's hacking both, he could use the dashboard cam to guide the car to its target and simultaneously watch the terrified driver." He mentioned

"An escalation. He needs more to get his thrill." I point out and the special investigator walked over

"We got an eyewitness. He says the car swerved to avoid hitting a pedestrian before he hit the woman."

"He's narrowing his selection criteria. So he specifically targeted an attractive, dark-haired woman." I said and pulled out my phone

 _"Penelope Garcia coming to you live on location for a limited time only."_

"Yeah, the most recent pedestrian victim...what you got on her?" I asked her

 _"Ohh, that's right, victim. I make jokes to cover up the sad. Ok, Meredith Courtelis, 22, raven-haired beauty. She was low risk. She lived with her parents. She was going to school. She wanted to be a physician's assistant."_

"What about a boyfriend?" I ask

 _"She doesn't have one. Not according to her social media. Looks like Meredith was her own girl. Chronically single. Friends kept trying to set her up."_

"All right, well, this unsub specifically targeted her over other available targets. Is there a connection to the driver? His name's Mark Keeling." I told her

 _"Mm, I got bupkis on that. No connection."_

"The one thing he's been consistent about." I point out to Rossi hanging up then my phone rang again, "It's Emily."

"Go ahead take it." Rossi tells me and I walk away answering it

"Hi Emily what's up?" I asked her

 _"Hey I have Spencer and Fiona here as well."_

 _"Hi Liz."_ I hear Spencer say and my heart tightens.

"Hey you."

 _"Fiona has some news and I thought you would like to know what's going on."_ Emily told me

"Yeah, of course."

 _"They're offering us a deal."_ I hear Fiona say

 _"They want me to plead guilty?"_

 _"To involuntary manslaughter. And the offer's 2 to 5 years."_ Fiona says and I close my eyes

 _"2 to 5 years."_ Spencer says

"That's a lot of time." I add trying to control the pounding in my chest and the knot in my stomach.

 _"I understand. But it's all about perspective. It's a lot more than nothing, but a lot less than 25 to life, which is what you'd be facing if convicted."_

 _"You think I should take it?"_ Spencer asked her and my breath caught in my throat

"I think, given what's at stake, you owe it to yourself and your family to carefully consider it."

 _"I don't think I can lie and say that I did this. Is that foolish?"_ Spencer asked

 _"No. No, of course not. I don't want to see you plead guilty to a crime you didn't commit."_ Emily told him

"I agree" I add

 _"Or maybe I should cut my losses."_ Spencer says

"Well, the offer is so low, is that a good sign? Does it mean that the government thinks they've got a weak case?" I asked

 _"Possibly."_ Fiona answered

 _"So that's good."_ Emily says

 _"Well, not necessarily. It could also mean they're trying to clear the case quickly with minimal publicity. I honestly don't know what it means. And I'm not in the business of second-guessing good offers. Which this is. But I'm also not the one who will be doing time."_ Fiona mentioned

 _"What would you do in my shoes?"_ Spencer asked her

 _"I'm not in your shoes. It's a decision only you can make."_

 _"Whatever you decide, I'm always in your corner. We all are."_ Emily tells him

 _"Spencer, if you want to fight this to the end, I promise you I will bring everything in my arsenal to the battle. But what I can't promise you is a better outcome than the one they're offering you today."_ Fiona adds

"I will too." I said in agreement

 _"I want to fight."_ Spencer tells her and I sigh in relief feeling my heart ache and twist at his next words, _"For my wife and children."_

* * *

"This unsub is what's known as a sadistic symphorophiliac." Rossi informed the department

"Symphorophilia is a type of paraphilia in which sexual arousal is derived from staging and then watching disasters, such as fires, or in this case, car accidents." Tara added

"Observing the destruction he causes is extremely important to this unsub." JJ mentions

"He enjoys watching the terror of the drivers whose cars he hijacks, as well as the impact with his chosen pedestrian victim." Walker said

"In order to watch, he hacks traffic cameras or in-car dashboard cameras, as well as dash-mounted smartphones." Luke points out

"Now, so far there's no apparent connection between the drivers of the vehicles and their pedestrian victims." I tell them

"Instead, it appears the drivers are selected based on the vehicles they drive." Rossi informed

"This pattern of vehicle selection was initially limited to a single make and model, but he has since expanded his hacking capabilities." Walker says

"We believe our unsub is a white male in his mid - to late 20s." Rossi described to them

"This unsub is careful enough to select drivers based on after market add-ons to their vehicles, such as dashboard cams or smartphone mounts." I said

"Workplace parking lots would be really good hunting grounds because he'd be able to see the same cars over and over, and once he's determined that that driver is using those after market devices consistently, bang, that's his next victim." Garcia mentions

"His first two hijackings were in order to perfect his technique. And those pedestrians were victims of opportunity." Luke pointed out

"However, this latest hijacking reveals that he's refining his victim criteria. He specifically chose a young, attractive, dark-haired woman." Tara says

"It's like this victim was a surrogate for someone the unsub seeks to terrify and punish.

"This unsub may lack the confidence and social skills necessary to form healthy relationships, which could be fueling his anger." JJ brought up

"We anticipate his next victim or victims to be young, attractive women with whom he has some sort of personal connection." Walker told them

"Encourage drivers to protect themselves by removing after market dashboard cameras and to refrain from mounting smartphones on their dashboards or CD slots." I say

"That's right. If the unsub can't watch, he will not select that car and driver." Luke agrees

"Law enforcement also needs to understand that the drivers of these vehicles are victims. They are unable to control the vehicles they appear to be driving." Walker finished

"Ok. That's it." Rossi says

* * *

Me, Walker, JJ and Rossi are sitting in the room we were set up in when his phone rings, "Everything ok?" He asked then paused for a bit, "Well at least we got a heads up. Thanks." He says and hung up then faced us, "That was Emily."

"About Reid?" JJ asked

"She got some intel on the progress on the Mexican murder investigation. They found the murder weapon. It has Reid's blood and prints on it." Rossi tells us and my heart stopped and sank as low as it possibly could, I feel JJ grab my hand.

"Excuse me." I tell them and got up walking out of the room tothe bathroom rushing into a stall and shut the door then threw up. After I was done I sat down on the ground as tears came out of my eyes. Things just went to worse and all I could think about was Spencer and our kids and his mom, how could this have happened?

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"They found the knife? Where?" I asked Fiona

"In the desert. The theory is that you tossed it out the window of the stolen car during the chase."

"It must have been whoever was in the car you were chasing." Emily pointed out

"But that car and its driver are in the wind. The blood and prints on the knife are yours." Fiona tells me

"This is bad."

"There's more. The blade on the murder weapon is consistent with the blade that cut your hand." Fiona says and I think back to the motel room hearing Rosa screaming and I see the attacker above her as she says on the ground and I get up as the knife drops towards me. In my drugged up state I tried to grab it but got the blade and cut my hand dropping it, "It means that the 2-to 5-year deal you didn't want want this morning is no longer an option. The new offer's 5 to 10 years." She adds

"Oh, my God." Emily says and my gut sinks

"And it's an exploding offer. That means that you have until the arraignment to take it. If you leave it, there won't be any more offers. You'll go to trial."

"And if he loses, he gets 25 to life?" Emily asked ehr

"Do you remember anything more about how you got that cut?"

"I'm trying, but I can't remember. And I'm not taking the offer." I tell her and look at Emily, I have to do what I can to make sure that my wife won't be alone or have to raise our kids without me, "I understand what's at stake. I'm not taking it."

"May I have a moment alone with Spencer, please?" Emily asked her

"Of course." Fiona says and leaves

* * *

"Please, just think about it. Think about the evidence." Emily begged me

"I know. Scratch dots his Is and crosses his Ts. We know that."

"But a jury won't. A jury will only see what Scratch wants them to see." She tells me

"You think they'll convict me?"

"I don't know. But if they do, 5 years...that's doable. You are young. You can have a life after that."

"Not as an FBI agent. I'd be a convicted felon." I tell her

"Yes. But you'd be free and you'll be with Elizabeth and your kids."

"But I'll miss milestones of their lives, Haley's first words, her first steps, Alexander going to his first day of school..." I say to her

"I understand that..."

"And the FBI is my home. It's where I belong." I add

"You don't belong in prison. And if you play Russian roulette with this... 25 years. That is a lifetime and you'll miss more then those mile stones you'll miss everything." She says and I feel like I got punched in the gut

"If Scratch is framing me, you guys will get him. I know you will."

"Yes, we will. I promise you we will never give up. And we will exonerate you. But what if we can't do that this week? Or this year? Or this... Decade? Because I know we can't do it before your arraignment." She says with her voice breaking a bit

"What do I do?" I asked her

"I don't know. But I'm scared for you. So is Elizabeth."

"So am I." I tell her and she hugged me

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Hey, Luke." JJ says answering her phone

 _"We're at Alyssa's house. Car's here. No signs of a struggle. I think he abducted her."_

"The local P.D. says he's not in his apartment and his car's gone." She tells him

 _"So then why the change in the modus operandi?"_

"It's part of his escalation. It's not enough for him to watch anymore. What he craves is physical contact." I point out

"His confidence is up. He was ready to step out of the shadows." Rossi adds

"He needs to be a part of it, and he wants to experience the moment of impact, even if it means he doesn't walk away from it." Walker says

"We need an APB and to figure out where he's taking her." Rossi mentioned

 _"Well, in order to have an all-points bulletin, I need to have points. And he has hacked into the DMV and deleted his entire account, so I can't find a car he's registered to, let alone a license."_ Garcia informed

"Well, he's gotta drive a 2013 Meridian. Those were his first crashes." Walker brought up

"Right. And he chose those because he already figured out how to hack his own." JJ says

 _"That makes sense. That narrows it down."_

"Cross-check all the plates of 2013 Meridians with named owners. The one without a specified owner is our unsub."

 _"Stop staring at me when I'm search engining! It's weird."_ I hear her say to Luke and I give a small chuckle

 _"Sorry."_

 _"Uh... I got it. It's a vanity plate... Wuko... I'm sending the APB now."_ She tells us

* * *

"I'm so glad you made it in time for the arraignment." Emily tells us as we enter the courthouse

"What did he decide about a plea?" I asked her and she put her hand on my shoulder

"I don't know. I'm not sure he does."

"I can't stand the thought of him being in prison." Garcia says

"But 5 years is a lot less time than 25." Emily mentioned and I nodded my head

"He must be agonizing over this decision." JJ pointed out

"Well, whatever he decides, he has our full support." Tara added

"He knows that. It means a lot to him." Emily said

"We have to prove that Scratch did this." I brought up

"We'll get him." Walker told me

"They're calling his case." Fiona tells us opening the court room door, both Emily and JJ pulled me into a hug rubbing my back then we headed inside.

* * *

"Case number 149-CR 0308, U.S. versus Reid." The Bailiff announced

"Ms. Duncan, your client is an FBI agent, correct?" The judge asked her

"That's right, your honor."

"You're charged with murder, which is a very serious matter." The judge says to Spencer and I started to bite my nail but JJ stopped me and held my hand

"Yes, your honor."

"All right, Ms. Duncan, does your client wish to enter a plea at this time?" The judge asked

"He does."

"And how do you plead, agent Reid?" She asked him

"Not guilty." Spencer told her and I felt a small bit of relief but I knew it wasn't over yet

"And as to bail?"

"The people oppose bail and request remand, your honor." The other attorney says standing up

"Your honor, my client presents no risk of flight." Fiona defended

"That's ridiculous. The defendant was arrested after fleeing the murder scene in Mexico." The other attorney tells her

"Those were extenuating circumstances. He'd been drugged against his will." Fiona says

"By failing to notify the FBI of his international travel, the defendant violated the Bureau protocol."

"My client presents no flight risk." Fiona mentioned and Spencer looked back at us locking eyes with me for a brief moment as I tried to calm my nerves, "He has deep ties in this community. His mother suffers from Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia and lives with him and his wife. He is solely responsible for her well-being. Additionally, he's been a decorated SSA with the FBI's behavioral analysis unit for over a decade."

"And as an FBI agent, he has contacts all over the world." The other one pointed out

"Agent Reid would be willing to turn over both his personal and government issued passports." Fiona brought up

"If he wanted a counterfeit passport, he could easily get one." The other attorney says and I looked at him wanting nothing more then to punch him in the face

"He has no criminal history." Fiona argued

"The defendant is uniquely situated to evade law enforcement should he flee the jurisdiction."

"Your honor, he wants to stay here and clear his good name." Fiona says

"He should have thought about his good name before sneaking across the border."

"I'm prepared to present multiple law enforcement character witnesses on his behalf right now. The witnesses are here in the courtroom, all highly respected FBI agents." Fiona tells her

"Simmer down, Ms. Duncan. It's almost 6:00 and I'm not inclined to hear from character witnesses. Actions speak louder than words, I always say."

"We'd be willing to abide by a curfew and strict monitoring of his whereabouts at all times." Fiona offered

"Too little too late, counselor. If past behavior is the best indicator of future conduct, and I do believe it is, then your client presents a flight risk. Bail is denied. Defendant will be remanded to federal custody pending trial." The judge says and I felt my world stop as Spencer looked back at me again before the bailiff walked over to him and JJ continued to hold my hand.

"How long before his case goes to trail?" Emily asked Fiona

"It's a complicated case. 3 months." She says and Spencer stands up then the bailiff cuffed him as we all stood up, "Spencer, I'm sorry. I will come and see you as soon as I can." Fiona told him and he gets escorted to the back giving us one last look before going behind the door. Tears fall out of my eyes and JJ pulled me to her into a hug rubbing my back and Rossi put his hand on my shoulder.

* * *

After I got home I stopped at the pool house and hugged my children, Amanda asked me what was wrong and I explained it all to her. She gave me a hug then I asked if she wouldn't mind keeping the kids there for the night which she didn't mind, I love them dearly I do but I just..didn't want them to see me like this. I walked into mine and Spencer's bedroom and just stood in the doorway looking at our bed and the nightstand he left a book on, I walked over to his side and grabbed his pillow holding it to my face inhaling his scent and that's when it hit me. I cried, I laid down on the bed and continued crying as my heart broke into a million pieces. My husband now had to sit 3 months in jail until trial and it killed me. I was so lost in grief that I didn't even notice someone walked into the room, next thing I knew I felt someone lay down next to me.

"It'll be ok honey." I hear Diana say and it caused me to cry more as she put her hand on my arm comforting me, "It'll be ok."


	56. Chapter 56

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **Spencer POV...**

As I sat on the prison transport bus that quite honestly smelled like sweaty feet and leather, there was a guy sitting in front of me with curly black hair with his head resting on the window as he cried, "No, please. Please don't make me. I'm not I don't want to go. I don't want to go, please. Please don't make me go. Please." He says and started banging his head on the window.

"Hey, man, shut it!" Another prisoner yelled at him

"You're gonna give yourself a concussion if you keep doing that." I said with concern to the guy who was crying

"Well, it beats what they'll do to me inside." He says, "I'm Luis." He introduced himself

"Spencer."

"What are you in for?" He asked

"I'm innocent."

"Yeah" He says and the bus door opens, "Me, too."

"Ok, ladies, listen up. You will exit this bus in a neat and orderly fashion. You will speak only when spoken to, and you will do everything that you are told. Follow these simple rules, we'll get along just fine." The guard who was holding a shotgun ordered us and we exit it off the bus. When I get out I look all around then follow in line and stand there.

"Torres. Driskill. Reid." Another guard yells and I step forward, "Line up over there." He instructed us then just as I was about to move we get stopped

"Hold up." A different guard says and took the clipboard looking at me then the other prisoners that were called, "You, you, go." He told them and they walked away, "You, back in line." He tells me and walked away then the first guard came up to me.

"Something wrong with your hearing?"

"No.." I started to say

"Back in line!" He yelled and I moved back to where I was, "Gate!" the gate opened, "Let's go." He says and we turn then start to head the other way.

* * *

When we entered we had to take off our transport clothes, get inspected to see if we snuck anything in, then did our mug shots and finger prints, after that we stood in line to grab our bedding, change of clothes, and shower shoes then walk in a line to our cell. The whole time I kept thinking about Liz, our children, my team, I had to stay positive that I was gonna get out of this. I know they won't stop until I'm out especially Liz, I missed her, I missed the last moment we had together. Seeing her face in the court room broke me into a million pieces as the bailiff took my away, I wanted to at least say goodbye, kiss her one more time but I couldn't. I will get out of this, I will. For my family.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"What are we gonna do?" I hear Luke ask Walker, Tara and JJ as me and Garcia entered the bullpen

"Oh, newbie, oh, newbie, I'm gonna tell you what we're gonna do. We're gonna send him letters every day, we're gonna put money in his commissary account," She tells him and I lean on the desk JJ was at and she gives my arm a comforting squeeze, "We are going to send him puzzles, magazines, books, whatever we can think of to make sure those gorgeous gears inside that boy wonder brain are lubed up and in perfect working order to keep us on track. I took the liberty of making a chart." She tells them holding it up.

"Good idea, Penelope." Tara told her

"Yes, I couldn't agree more. Also, if you've noticed, there is a visitation schedule."

"Why do you get to go see Reid first?" Luke asked her

"Because I made the chart. And if anyone has any problem with that, tough noogies." She says and he raised his hands in defeat, "And of course the beautiful Elizabeth gets more visits then any of us." She tells them and looked at me, I gave her a small smile.

"Thanks Garcia." I say and she hugged me.

"What's all this?" Emily asked as her and Rossi walked over

"Uh, well, miss Penelope here is keeping track of our correspondence and visits to Spence." JJ answered

"Very colorful, Penelope." Rossi told her

"Thank you, sir. Oh! And that reminds me, I'm sending the first batch of letters to Reid in jail today. I'm going to need you to pen your upbeat, articulate missives and give them to me no later than 3 p.m, sharp." Garcia tells all of us

"I'm afraid you'll need a new mailing address." Rossi says to her and I looked at him confused

"What's going on?" I asked her

"Early this morning Reid was moved from the police precinct to the Millburn Correctional Facility." Emily tells us and my heart stopped

"He's in prison?" JJ asked

"How is that possible? There hasn't been a trial." I said with JJ rubbing my back

"You can blame overcrowding at the D.C. jail." Rossi mentioned and I sighed

"I know this isn't great news, but his lawyer is doing everything she can, and she promised to give us updates. Right now, all we can do is put our faith in the justice system and follow Garcia's chart and work the case we just got."

"Oh, yeah, the case. Oh, boy, I'll go get the files." Garcia tells us and walked away

* * *

"It is with a heavy heart, I am telling you, Philadelphia, aka, the city of brotherly love, is in sore need of some lately, because last night, two people had acid thrown in their faces in two separate attacks. They are Colton Davis and Neela Travers. Both are being treated at the burn center there." Garcia informed us as we sat in the round room looking at our files.

"Neela was attacked outside a gym and has severe burns on her face, neck, and chest." Rossi mentioned

"And 30 minutes later, Colton was ambushed as he left a bar, and in addition to being disfigured, he was partially blinded." JJ added

"This comes on the heels of two other acid attacks last week in Philadelphia." Tara says and my eyes wander over to the empty seat that Spence should be sitting in.

"That's right. Harley Macafee and Simon Wells." Garcia brought up the next two pictures on the screen

"Harley was attacked right outside of her apartment and Simon while on a run. Both happened on the same night about 20 minutes apart." Luke pointed out

"Simon is still hospitalized, but Harley died from inhaling the toxic fumes." Walker brought

"This unsub has no gender or race preference." Rossi says

"Any witnesses?" I asked

"No, but a surveillance camera captured the attack on Colton Davis." Emily answered then Garcia pulled up a video and we watch as Colton exits the bar and started to walk down the sidewalk when suddenly someone runs up behind him and tossed the acid in his face then run away as Colton falls to the ground."

"The unsub didn't stick around to see the damage he'd done."

"Hey, Garcia, would you mind backing up and freezing on the unsub?" Walker asked her

"Sure thing."

She rewinds the video and paused it, "We're saying "He" but it's hard to tell if the unsub is male or female." Walker pointed out

"That could be a woman or a man with a slight build." Luke points out

"So are these coordinated blitz attacks by multiple unsubs or the act of a lone wolf?" Rossi asked

"Either way, we could be looking at a spree in the making. Wheels up in 20." Emily tells us and stands up, "Guys, hold on. I know it's gonna be hard not to think about Reid in prison, but we'll get through this. And more importantly, Reid will, too." She adds and I stand up then go to walk out but she stopped me as the others walked out of the room, "Elizabeth, if you wanted to sit this one out I can give you time.."

"Thanks Emily, but I need to keep my mind busy."

"If you ever need anything, let me know." She says and I nod my head then walked out of the room

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I walk into the cell area where a lot of other prisoners were at and looked around at them as they looked back at me, I felt like I did when I walked into high school at such a young age, little fish in a big pond is what my mom would say, "When you hear your name, find a bed." The cop I saw from outside told all of us then held up a clipboard, "Archer. Delgado. Hill. Lupo. Morrone. Reid." He finished looking at me then started to walk away

"Uh excuse me, officer." I stopped him putting my stuff down and he looked at me, "Um, I don't belong here."

"Gee, I never heard that before."

"No, I mean, I think there's been some sort of mistake. I'm supposed to be in protective custody." I tell him

"There's been no mistake. This is exactly where you belong. You recognize any of these guys?" He asked me looking at the other inmates, "You probably put some of them away, didn't you Fed?" He asked then walked out.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"The victim from the surveillance video, Colton Davis, moved to Philadelphia last year to attend medical school at Temple. Neela Travers works in social media marketing." Emily informs us on the jet.

"Simon Wells works at an ad agency. And Harley Macafee, well, she worked as a trainee at a brokerage firm in center city." Luke added

"No obvious connection other than being 20-something and single." Rossi mentioned

"Well, the primary motivators behind acid attacks are rage, jealousy, and revenge." Tara pointed out

"And sexual rejection is often a trigger." JJ adds

"In South Asia, particularly Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, acid attacks are used against women for refusing sexual advances and proposals of marriage." I tell them them

"The mentality being, if I can't have you, I'll make sure no one will." Rossi says

"Neela is of South Asian descent. Maybe she rejected the unsub." JJ brought up

"Well, political and religious beliefs are inciting factors as well." Tara said

"Well, in some countries, young girls have had acid thrown in their faces as a punishment for attending school, or women for wearing clothing that was considered immodest." I mention and Garcia popped up on the screen

 _Hello, my...sorry, it appears my internal salutation generator is broken due to this morning's gut punch. All I can come up with is hello."_

"What do you have, Penelope?" Rossi asked her

"The burn center says that highly-concentrated nitric acid was used in all 4 attacks."

"Well, the unsub could have access to it through his job." Walker pointed out

 _"I did some digging. It turns out nitric and other corrosive acids, of which there are, oh, so many nasty ones, are readily available just about anywhere."_

"Well, there gotta be tons of DIY videos online." I said

 _"Yep. 35,000, to be exact."_

"So this unsub could have made his own concoction." Tara pointed out

"Garcia, compile a list of acid sales in the tri-state area New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Also, anyone buying those ingredients to make their own." Emily told her

 _"Ooh, it's gonna be a long list."_ Garcia says and hung up

"If the kid were here, he'd probably rattle off every acid known to man, their chemical properties, plus their sales down to the milliliter." Rossi pointed out and I feel my heart ache with pain then Tara put her hand on my shoulder

"When we land, Tara, Elizabeth and I will coordinate with the locals. The rest of you head to the burn center." Emily says to us after a moment and I nod then fiddle with my ring.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I came out of the bathroom area of the community cell I was in and headed over to the bed I chose and noticed my stuff was gone so I looked at an inmate laying on his bed, "Excuse me, did you see what happened to my things? They were-" I tried to ask but he rolled on his side away from me, then I looked over at 3 other prisoners who were playing poker and walked up to them, "Hi. I, uh, I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding, but I believe those are mine." I indicated to my things sitting next to one of them.

"No." The one says

"I'm pretty sure they are." I insisted and he looked at me

"You callin' me a liar?"

The other prisoner next to him and laughed, "Here we go." He told the one across from him.

"I'm not I'm not saying that, but those are my things. How they got here, I don't know, but.." I started to tell him as he slowly stood up, "I'm gonna take them back now." I said and slowly moved past him, "Excuse me. Just gonna grab this stuff and walk.." I grabbed my things and made my way back

"Ooh, damn." I hear one of them say then suddenly I feel the other one grab me and turned me around raising his fist up.

"Hey, break it up! Break it up!" The guard yells and walked over to us pulling me away from him, "I said, break it up. Get lost, inmate." He says to him then turned to face me, "Am I gonna have to write you up?" He asked

"That inmate stole my things."

"Guess that'll teach you how to keep track of your stuff." He told me

Well, aren't you gonna do something about it?"

"I just did. I saved your ass. Now step back, inmate. Or I'll let everyone here know who and what you are." He threatened and I nodded my head then set my stuff back down in my bin then sat on my bed. I looked around at all the other inmates then looked down at my left hand seeing the tan line of my wedding ring. God I miss Liz so much, I would give anything to see her smile again, hear her say my name, kiss me, hug me, anything as long as I was with her, to see our children again. I keep wondering how she's doing, if she's trying to put on a brave face like she always does when she's in pain or what. Aftger everything we've been through, this is the worst. I'm missing a part of my soul being away from her.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Here are the reports on the earlier attacks on Harley Macafee and Simon Wells." The officers says to me, Emily and Tara handing us each a file.

"Thank you." Emily tells her

"There were no witnesses to the assault on Harley. Unfortunately, she never regained consciousness before she died." The officer added

"Simon described his attacker just as Colton and Neela did. A man in a dark coat and baseball cap shouting some kind of gibberish." Tara read off the file

"It looks like the same unsub is responsible for all the attacks." Emily pointed out and her phone rang, "Garcia, go ahead."

 _"I'm going through the social media sites of our 4 victims."_

"What'd you find?" She asked her

 _"Oh, the usual selfies, pictures of food they've eaten, really adorable pet antics. Uh, also, here is a nugget that might float your boat. Last month, the first two victims, Simon and Harley, attended singles nights events at Manayunk at the aptly-named Brewerytown."_

"Those are popular neighborhoods with the younger crowd. Lots of bars and music venues." The officer tells us

"Were they there at the same time?" I asked Garcia

 _"No, different nights."_

"But the unsub might have been at both events. That could be where he started stalking them." Tara pointed out

"He could have picked out any number of people to stalk, which means at this moment, he could be targeting his next victim." Emily mentioned

* * *

"That particular Latin phrase is from the Bible, Jeremiah, chapter 18. In it, it's talking about how God handles nations and kingdoms and that he can mold them as easily as a potter molds clay." Garcia informed us

"So maybe this unsub sees himself as a God, and these victims represent nations and kingdoms to punish." Tara mentioned

"I will destroy it. Elliot Rodger, the mass shooter in Isla Vista, California, wrote something similar in his manifesto. And when I was with the BAP, we were looking at it for any possible ties to terrorism. Garcia, see if you can pull it up." Walker told her

"See if I can? You doubt me?" She asked him and I gave a light chuckle, "Sir, excuse me while I bulldoze my way through 137 pages of manifesto muck and mire without even cracking my lip gloss."

"I remember Rodger. He became enraged whenever he saw pretty young women or couples together." Tara pointed out

"That's right. He wanted to stop everyone, men and women, from having sex. He was a follower of the manosphere." Emily added

"What's that?" The officer asked

"It's a collection of websites, blogs, and Internet forums focused on male culture." Tara answered

"With a few exceptions, it mostly spews misogynistic and hate-filled rhetoric." Walker adds

 _"And Walker wins the prize. The various last page, Rodger says, quote, 'if I cannot have it, I will do everything I can to destroy it.'"_ Garcia told us

"So all 6 victims are young and good-looking. Maybe the unsub feels the way Rodger did." I said

 _"Uh, guys, there's a man-o-sphere site I think you should see. It's called no means yes, and they have a weekly feature called Alpha male bad-ass bitch, where they post pictures of young, attractive men and women, and users are encouraged to mock them for their shiny hair, perfect teeth, washboard abs, and the hot sex they are no doubt having and you're not."_ Garcia tells us and put a few pictures up on the screen, _"Look, guys, check this out. Do you see what I see?"_

"The victims could be dead-ringers for the people in these photos." The officer pointed out

"This unsub wants to do more than mock these people. He wants to destroy them. In his mind, they're living the life that he wants but can't have." Tara mentioned

"It's time to deliver the profile." Emily tells us

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I walked through the courtyard looking around at all the inmates who were either lifting weights, playing basketball, or just hanging out, I went and sat down on some bleachers and put my hands in my pockets when Luis came over and sat down behind me, You got some brass stones, man." He tells me and I look at him

"What do you mean?"

"They're gonna be gunning for you. You got a plan?" He asked me

"Who?"

"They're coming." Luis tells me then got up and left as 3 guys walked over to me so I stood up

"What's up?" One of them says to me

"Hey."

"Got any bats?" Another one asked

"Bats?"

"Cigarettes." One pointed out and they all circle around me, not gonna lie I have been in some pretty scary situations on the job but this...this made those look easy.

"Oh, no, sorry. No, I don't smoke."

"Yeah, I'm gonna quit." One of them says taking off his stocking cap and rubbed his head, "You ok, man?" He asked me

"Yeah. I-I'm ok. Thanks."

"Does he look ok to you?" He asked the red headed prisoner

"Nah. Looks like he's gonna cry."

"Or wet his pants." The other one adds and I try to walk away but he stopped me, "Don't go. We're just messin'. Out of respect, you know? It's all over the yard how you stole from Milos."

"I didn't steal from Milos. That was my stuff." I defended, I knew it sounded childish but I was just trying to make it through this

"No. That was a tribute. Everyone has to pay when they join the group." The red head told me

"What group?" I asked them

"You're kiddin', right? Take a look around." The one to my left tells me and I look around the yard at the prisoners seeing the different groups all around, like high school with different cliche's, "They outnumber us. So we gotta stick together. In here, we're the minority."

"I'm not interested. Thanks, anyway." I tried to tell them while walking away but got stopped

"Yeah, that's not the way this is gonna go." The one tells me putting his arm around my shoulder.

"Hey, Hicks. I see Tony O over there. He's waiting for us." The other one tells him

"Ok, my man, we gotta go. No worries. Catch you tonight." Hicks told me and they walked away. Just then I see someone across the yard who looks familiar to me, he looked up at me and just stared.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I stood there looking at the board holding my coffee completely lost in thought thinking about Spencer, wondering how he was doing in prison when my phone rang breaking me out of my thoughts, "Garcia, what have you got?" I asked her sitting down

 _"I have a great deal of rage and sorrow over reading a whole bunch of sexist, racist, and homophobic rants."_

"The "no means yes" website." I point out

 _"Yes. And by that, I mean yes. I am compiling a list of manosphere users and subscribers and cross-checking this I will destroy it phrase with acid sales and Oh, they just posted new photos."_

"Get them to us. Let's hope we can be one step ahead of this unsub." I tell her

 _"Sending."_ She says and there was a pause, _"How are you doing?"_ She asked me and I sighed

"I'm trying to focus on this case as best as I can but my mind..."

 _"Keeps going to him huh?"_ She asked me finishing my sentence

"Yeah."

 _"I know sweetie, it's hard on all of us and we are all here for you with whatever you, those beautiful children, and his mom need. We love you and..."_ She paused and I sat there holding back tears, _"...We'll get him out of this I promise, we won't stop."_

"I know we won't. It's just so hard not having him with us at work or by me at night, especially at night. There's a hole there Garcia, I mean they found the knife with his blood and prints on it but he told Fiona that it was because he was trying to stop whoever was killing Rosa but they don't believe it because he was drugged. What kind of bullshit is that?" I asked standing up and started to pace

 _"I know."_

"And what really gets me is that we made sure he was gonna stay at the jail but due to over crowding he gets sent to prison? Why not send another person there, anyone, just not...not him. They send a fed to a place where he probably locked up most of those people and expect him to be safe?" I paused and wiped a few tears away, "I need him here Garcia, our children need him, his mom needs him, I don't know how many times I have to look at our son's face when I tell him daddy isn't home yet, or his mom when she asks me where he is, it's all on me."

 _"It's gonna be ok."_ She reassures me

"I do know one thing is for sure, Scratch forced Aaron and Jack into hiding taking them away from me, but he's gonna regret messing with my future when I get my hands on him."

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

We all sat around in our cell, everyone was talking when the door opened and the guard walked in, "Ok, settle down. Settle-shut up!" He yelled then walked back out as everyone got settled onto their beds, "Lights out!" He tells us and I stood up just as the door shut and the lights went off

"Tier guard, lock down!"

Just then the 3 men from before stood up and two of them walked over to me but as I tried to back up the 3rd one was behind me and held up a hand made knife, "It's party time."

The 2 behind me grabbed my hands tying them behind my back as I struggled, "Help!" I yelled but they shove a piece of cloth in my mouth then dragged me out of the cell area to the bathrooms, I tried to fight against them while also trying to yell for help but it was no use. They bring me to Milos as he stands there waiting and the guy behind me hands him the knife

"So you're too good to be with us? We offer you friendship and what do you do? Spit in our faces." He tells me

"Thinks he can survive in here without our help." One of the others tells him as Milos takes the cloth out of my mouth.

"You, you need to show some respect." Milos says and raises the knife.

"Yeah."

"Do it." Both of his men encourage

"Back off. Now." I hear someone say from the door and Milos hesitates before lowering the knife then I look and see that it was the guy from the court yard who looked familiar, "Untie him." He ordered the man holding me and my hands get free, "Get out of here. Go on, take off." He tells me and I walk towards him and stop for a moment then he nodded his head for me to continue going.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Latest victim, Melinda Carroll. Taught high school Math, lives in Chestnut Hill." JJ mentions to me and Luke

"Garcia said she didn't find any connection between her and the other victims." Luke added

"Ok. See you when you get here." Rossi says on his phone walking into the room then hung up, "Prentiss and Walker are heading back. Melinda is in acute respiratory distress. She was put on a ventilator before anyone could talk to her.

"Melinda looks nothing like the latest photo posted on the 'no means yes' website. Why did the unsub target her?" I asked

"And why risk being seen in a busy parking garage?" Rossi adds

"Maybe his need-based compulsion was too great and he couldn't wait to find a red-headed look-alike." Luke tells us

"Yeah, I thought the same, but the police said they talked to a young woman that was in the garage at the time. She was a redhead." JJ pointed out

"Did Melinda routinely park there?" Luke asked her

"It doesn't say. According to a George Cunningham, they were meeting there for a date, he arrived late, found her on the ground."

"Well, if Melinda can't talk, maybe her date can help us figure out why she was targeted." I brought up

"What if George is our unsub?" Luke asked

"If he's desperate for love and affection, why would he attack a woman that was actually willing to go out with him?" JJ answered with another question

"We profiled he's a narcissist. Maybe he fed into those photos, thought that she wasn't good enough for him, that he can do better."

"Or, she could have rejected him sexually." Rossi added and pulled his phone out, "Garcia, we need everything you have on George Cunningham."

* * *

"We were going to the museum of art. Neither of us had ever been there before." George told me and Luke

"Why not just meet at the museum? You know? Go up the steps, do the whole Rocky thing." Luke told him gesturing his arms up in the air

"We'd joke about it, but Melinda is what you'd call directionally-challenged. We were gonna walk to the museum together."

"How long have you guys been dating?" Luke asked

"It's only been 6 weeks, but I think she could be the one."

"Ah, that's great. So you guys tell each other everything. So then you told her about the, uh, comments that you made on a website called 'no means yes'?" Luke asks him

"How did you..I didn't say" George started to stutter getting caught off guard

"You didn't write, 'If the bitch wants a big wedding, dump her'?" I asked him

"Or this one." Luke says and sits down next to me and opened the file, "Hang on a second. 'Be strong, learn game, get laid. And don't trust women'?" Luke asked

"Or, there's my favorite.." I start to say

"Ok, ok. I posted those things, but I don't really believe that."

"Then why did you write it?" Luke asked him

"I don't know. I was lonely, feeling sorry for myself. I wanted people to think I was a player. But all that was before I met Melinda."

"Did anyone else know about your plans to go to the museum?" I asked him

"Some friends."

"Friends, from the manosphere?"Luke asked

"Yeah. We talk about lots of stuff."

"Like what?" I ask

"Cars, sports. Most of the time we just complain about being incels." He tells us and we look at him confused, "It's slang for involuntary celibate. But now, with Melinda.."

"You're not a virgin anymore." Luke pointed out, "How did the other incels feel about that when they heard?" Luke asked

"Most were happy for me."

"But not everybody." I mention

"I just chalked it up to being jealous."

"How many of your friends know what Melinda looks like?" Luke asked

"I've posted pictures of us."

"All right, we're gonna need their contact information." I tell him and handed him a piece of paper and pen.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Hi." I greeted the man who saved me last night walking over to his private cell as he sat there reading a book and another guy stood outside of it I'm guessing to keep guard or something, "There wasn't really time for proper introductions. My name's Spencer.."

"Reid." He finished for me sitting up, "Calvin Shaw. Guessing you already knew that. Come on in." He told me shutting his book and I walked into the cell, "Hey, coffee?" He offered me

"Sure." I answered and he looked at the guy outside the cell who then walked away, "You were with the Bureau in Detroit, until 2005." I pointed out

"Right up until I got arrested. Have a seat." He says and I sat down the chair across from him.

"Thanks."

"You know why I'm in here?" He asked me

"You killed your criminal informant." I answered

"Elena Olegnova. She was feeding us information about shipments of heroin being funneled to the city by the Bratva. Russian mafia. What she gave us was credible. But after a while, she began to know things she shouldn't. My gut told me something wasn't right. I always trust my gut."

"She was working with the Bratva?" I asked

"Threatened to expose our undercover agents. They'd have been tortured and killed. I couldn't let that happen. I had to make a decision."

"You could have arrested her." I mentioned

"Then our guys would have been killed instantly. Had to make it look like a rival to save their lives. Wrong decision? Definitely. Right reason? about you? You kill that doctor in Mexico?" He asked me

"No."

"Hmm." He grunted then the other guy walked back in carrying two coffees and handed one to Calvin first, "Thanks, man." Calvin tells him then the guy handed me the other

"Thank you."

"You want milk?" Calvin asked me

"I'm ok."

"So, how long till your trial?" Calvin asked

"Uh, my lawyer says maybe 3 months."

"3 months? You like to read?" He asks

"Mm-hmm. Yeah."

"You won't get library privileges while you're here, so if there's anything you want, you let me know, I'll get it. First few months are the worst. Having a book would help." He says and grabbed a book reaching it over to me, "Have you read this one?" He asked and I took it from him looking at it, "It's about these fishermen in the North Sea. Bad-ass dudes. Warriors, really. Storm comes out of nowhere. It's a surprise. They all drown. They fight it. This is our ocean." He tells me talking about the prison, "One day it's calm, the next day there are waves the size of mountains. It'll be hard at first, but trust me, you shouldn't fight it. You just gotta learn how to survive."

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Garcia, what did George's friends from the manosphere have to say about his relationship with Melinda?" Emily asked her

 _"Of the 20 contacts he gave us, 15 of them emailed him saying they were happy that he finally had someone and was getting laid. Their words, not mine."_

"And the other 5?" I asked

 _"Uh, one of them said that monogamy is evil and against basic human rights."_

"Do any of the 5 live or work in the area?" Walker asked her

 _"Uh, two. Jared Bahktra and Alan Crawford."_

"What's their deal?" Luke asked

 _"Jared is 29, he works as a barista in south Philly. Ah Oh. Jared keeps a log of his sexual conquests. He rates the woman's face, body, and personality traits with a number."_

"By reducing women to numerical components, he may delude himself into thinking he's better than they are." JJ pointed out

"The unsub wants to stop people from having sex, not rack up his numbers. What about Alan Crawford?" Rossi asked

 _"Alan is 27. He lives in Germantown, and Holy hole in a doughnut, he's a supply clerk at Tyrell Chemical."_

"What did his email to George say?" I ask

"Uh, it said that he couldn't understand why George had a woman and he didn't, why women give their sex and love to other men while he, Alan, is clearly the superior one."

"When George started dating and having sex, that must have been the trigger." Emily mentioned

"Yeah. Without his friend to commiserate and share his pain with, Alan must have felt even more alone." Luke says

"He needs to be heard, validated. It's like Elliot Rodger. He could have written his own manifesto." Walker pointed out

"Could have and did, and it's a doozy. Hold on to your capes. You gotta see this." Garcia tells us and all of our tablets beep, I pull mine out and start reading it.

"Ooh. 118 pages." JJ says

"I can only take so much. I've been rejected, humiliated, and ridiculed for the last time." Luke reads out loud

"All that pleasure they've had, I will make the animals pay." Emily reads

"On the day of reckoning you will know my name and fall to your knees in fear." I add

"Remember my name, for I will live forever in infamy." Rossi quotes, "He's planning a major attack." He pointed out

"Yeah, but when and where?" Luke asked

"According to this, it's tonight, but he doesn't say where." Emily says

"He'll have clues in his writing." Walker told her

"Ok, I'll comb through the manifesto with Tara. Garcia, we need Alan's home and work addresses." Emily says to her

"Sending now."

* * *

"Man, I just came to watch the game tonight." Walker tells Alan sitting down next to him at the bar while I sat next to JJ and Luke waited on the other side of it and Rossi stood behind them off a ways, "This place is lit. Guess there's some singles thing goin' on. Most of these guys are just wasting their time, poor bastards. We all know who's getting the hot women tonight, don't we?" Walker asked him, "Hey, beer." He says to the bartender, "Hey, you by yourself?" He asked Alan, "And another one for my friend here." Walker says and Alan reached to his side but Walker stopped him, "No, hey, no, no, man. Put your wallet away. It's on me. It's not really fair, is it? I mean, why do some people get to have love and sex and pleasure in life and others don't?" Walker asked him getting into his head

"They don't deserve it." Alan tells him

"It's gotta be the worst feeling in the world not to be able to love a woman and be loved back. Not to be seen for who you really are. Isn't that right, Alan?" Walker asked and Alan reached to his side again to grab his acid sprayer but Walker stopped him as Luke and Rossi moved forward and I stood up, "Hey, I wouldn't do that if I were you. I'm with the FBI. And right now, several guns are trained on you. You use that sprayer, and believe me, you will be dead before our drinks come."

"They need to feel my pain."

"And they will if you come with me calmly. I'll make sure your manifesto gets out to the world." Walker tells him grabbing the sprayer from him then Luke cuffed Alan, him and Rossi escort Alan out with me, JJ and Walker following

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I walked down the cell blocks holding my stuff with the prison guard and we stop at an empty cell, "Stop," He tells me and pushed me inside, "Get in there." He says and I turn to look at him, "Don't get too comfortable." He tells me, "Door!" The cell door shuts and I look around the cell then see a book sitting on the bed.

"Welcome to the neighborhood." I hear Clavin say from the cell next to me, "Hey, Reid."

"Yeah?"

"Any chance you play chess?" He asked me and I felt...I don't even think grateful would be the right word. A man I barely knew befriended me, used his power to get me out of where I was and into a place where I would be safe, for the time being anyways.

* * *

"Pawn to Queen's bishop 4." I tell Calvin sitting on the bed in my cell

"We'll get you a board."

"That's ok, I can see it." I say to him

"You're gonna need a lot more than one book at a time, aren't you?" He asked me and I smiled

"It'd be nice."

"I'll hook you up. I might even be able to get you a job. I heard they're looking for somebody in the laundry. It helps pass the time." He tells me

"Thank you, Calvin."

"Tell me something. Is old man Foster still running the firing range - at the academy" He asked me

"Yeah, he's still there."

"I swear, he was like 90 when I went through training."

"He looks exactly the same." I said with a chuckle, "How do you do it?" I ask

"Do what?"

"Survive in here." I tell him

"First rule is to accept that no one is safe."

"You seem to be." I point out to him, "Last night those guys could have turned on you, but instead they listened. Why?"

"It's all about respect and alliances. A favor now gets you a favor later."

"Like, uh, like moving an inmate into a particular cell?" I ask him

"Something like that. And don't forget, once you play the game as long as I have, you get good at it. Pawn to King's knight 6." He says and I stand up then walk over to the cell door

"That guard Wilkins is threatening to tell everyone that I'm on the job."

"That wouldn't be too good for you." He tells me

"I don't get it. Everybody knows you're a fed."

"Yeah, but here's the difference. You say you didn't kill that doctor." He mentioned

"I didn't."

"Ok. But everybody knows I killed that C.I I admit it. That gets me respect in here because I killed an informant. A rat, snitch. Lowest of the low. Do what you gotta do, Reid, but the sooner you stop fighting it, the better off you'll be. Your move." He says and I stand there thinking about what he said. He made a good point, I need to survive this for my family, I have to.


	57. Chapter 57

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **Spencer POV...**

"All right, inmates, go, out of your racks." One of the guards yells and I climb out of my bed and look at it for a moment, it was hard to sleep last night even though I was in my own cell because I wished that Liz was next to me. I missed her so much, I miss waking up next to her every morning burying my face in her hair and smelling that coconut scent I love and having her giggle as I do so. I got taken out of my thoughts when the cell doors opened, "Out!" The guard yelled and I stepped out of my cell then looked to my right seeing Luis standing there and he glanced at me then back forward. After that we were all led to our jobs and Calvin kept his word getting me one doing laundry, Liz would laugh right now because she hates how I fold the laundry. As I stood there shaking out a sheet then started to fold it I looked over at Luis who was across from me and noticed his black eye, "What happened?" I asked him

"Welcoming committee."

"You ok?" I ask

"I am right now. It's later I'm worried about." He tells me

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Yeah. Give me some of that don't touch the skinny white guy pixie dust you got sprinkled on you." He says and Wilkins walked in

"This ain't social hour. Get back to work." He tells us and I put my pile of sheets in the cart and wheel them away.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I sat in the visiting area looking around at all the other people feeling more and more nervous, I haven't seen Spencer since his arraignment and I know it's going to kill me the moment he walks through that door. Just as I started to chew on my nail I see a guard walk out with the prisoners behind him and then I see him, the man that still makes my heart skip and my knees go weak. He saw me and I saw the biggest smile go across his face as he tried to hurry over to me, "Hi" He says and I stand up

"Hey" I tell him then he moved to hug me

"No touching." The guard says to us and we both look at him then sit down

"Is everything ok? It's not my mom or the kids is it?" He asked me and I shook my head

"No. No their fine. She's fine. She asked about you." I mention and see the pain in his eyes, I didn't even want to tell him about what happened last night with our son because it would hurt him more, "Cassie said she was having a really good day."

"Where did you, uh, tell her I was?" He asked me

"Taht you were teaching at a college for awhile, it seemed to make her happy, so.."

"How are the kids?" He asks and my heart ached

"Their good, I tried to tell Alexander the same thing I told your mom but he just...being 3 he doesn't quite understand yet."

"Right, and Haley? Please tell me she's not walking." He says and I smile

"No, not yet. I can tell they miss you though."

"I miss them too, and you, so much." He says to me

"How are you doing?"

"I'm ok. I, uh, I'm really happy to see you. I just I kind of wish you hadn't come. It's not a good idea." He pointed out and I glanced around, I knew why he thought that, all the men there seeing us talking, but I didn't care, I wanted to see my husband.

"Sorry. You're stuck with me. Garcia has us on shifts, and she of course took first dibs, but, uh, they needed her in the office for a case, so I was next." I chuckled

"A case? Liz, you should not be here."

"The team will be fine without me, Emily understands," I said trying to hold back tears, "I am just trying to keep up the best way I can."

"What's the case?" He asked me and I looked at him confused

"What?"

"The case. I'm assuming you stayed behind unless it's local. Is it local?" He asked

"No. New York. You really want to hear this?"

"Yeah. I'd love something to think about besides, you know, this." He tells me glancing around the room

"Ok. Um last night they found the latest victim, which is the third in the last 6 weeks. He dumps them in alleys. All female, in their 20s. Equal opportunity. He crosses race lines. Oh, and the media's having a field day. They're calling him the Bone Crusher." I informed him.

* * *

"I'd love to get a piece of that, huh?" I hear an inmate say and Spencer looked back at him

"Hey, quiet in there!" A guard shouts and Spencer looked back at me

"It's ok." I reassure him

"Hmm?"

"It's not my first time in a prison. I can handle it." I tell him

"Sorry. I don't want them looking at you." He says and I see the concern on his face

"I know. I don't either. But if that's the price I have to pay to see you, I'll do it." I said and he gave a small smile nodding his head, "So, listen, um, there are some other things we should talk about. We got your full panel tox screen results. Um, they were negative for scopolamine." I mention

"How are we gonna prove that Scratch is behind all this?" He asked me

"We'll find another way. Look, it was too late by the time we took that blood test. You must have metabolized everything."

"He's gonna get away with it." Spencer says

"Spence."

"He's gonna get away with it." He repeated and all I wanted to do right now was hold his hand or touch his face to let him know it was ok.

"We're not gonna let him. We're gonna get you out of here. I promise. And we are gonna get that psychopath and we are gonna clear your name and bring Aaron and Jack out of hiding." I tell him and he looked at me, it breaks me the way he does because he looks at me with such love, "Just, please, keep your head down, and focus on that. Ok?" I asked him and my voice unintentionally broke a little

"Ok."

* * *

"What's that?" Spencer asked me when I held up a drawing

"It's a present from Alexander." I tell him and showed him the note our son wrote him that read _I love you Daddy_ and I felt my heart break seeing the heart break in his eyes.

"Tell him it's beautiful. Tell him I love it, and I love him too, and Haley, and you." He smiled and my eyes watered up but I blinked them away. He knows I'm hurting but I don't want him to see it.

"I love you too."

"Visiting hours are over." We hear the guard tell us, "Inmates, line up."

Spencer stood up but I stopped him, "Hey. You stay strong." I tell him and he gave me one more look then walked away with the other inmates. As soon as he walked out of the visiting area it hit me and I put my face in my hands and the tears fell as my heart broke even more.

* * *

I sat in the rec room thinking about my visit with Liz, it felt so good to see her but at the same time it hurt, I could see she was trying to hold back the tears and it made me want to hold her so badly and kiss her. Then she showed me the picture our son drew and that stabbed my heart even more, _I love you Daddy_

I looked around and saw two big guys go over to Luis who was playing cards, "Hey, you." one of them says and picked him up

"What's up, my man? How you doin'?" Luis asked him then they walked away and I went to stand up too but Calvin stopped me.

"Hey, where you goin'?" He asked me

"They're gonna kill him."

"Sit down. Sit down!" He insisted and I sat back down, "No, they won't. Teach him a lesson, maybe, but they won't kill him. Be too easy."

"How do you know?" I asked him

"'Cause I know how they think. They're testing him. Want to see if he's going to float or drown. The rules in here are different. You don't have a badge or a gun. Stop fighting it, man." He says and I look over at Luis as the two guys sat next to him and one was holding a knife to him.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"How's it going with the case?" I asked Garcia standing in her tech room while she searched on her computer, "Everything ok with the girl they found?"

"Yeah, I don't know. She's still in surgery. Oh, how's boy wonder?" She asked me

"He's good." I lied but instantly she saw the look on my face

"What? No, he must be terrible. What do you mean? Tell me everything. No, don't tell me everything. I don't want to know. No, of course I want to know. Tell me everything. Tell me everything."

"He can't stay in there." I tell her and tears begin to form in my eyes again, "We gotta get him out."

"Yeah." She stands up and pulled me into a hug, "We will. We will. Come here. We'll get him out."

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Open it up!" A guard yells and our cell doors open up, "On the line!" He orders us and I look to my left but didn't see Luis standing there

"What did they do to him?" I asked Calvin after sitting down with my breakfast tray

"He's in the infirmary. Got a couple of broken ribs. They could have punctured his lungs. They didn't. I told you, it's a test."

"Are they gonna leave him alone now?" I ask and noticed that the guys who hurt Luis were looking over at me

"I didn't say that."

"You know, Calvin, you're right. I don't know prison. But I do know how to stop a psychopath." I tell him

"That was out there. In here, we're all psychopaths. We have to be, 'cause it's predator or prey. Which one are you?" He asked me and I took a drink of my water then finished it and stood up walking over to a guard

"What do you want, inmate?"

"Out of water. I was just hoping to get a little more water." I said to him

"There's no water. Just go sit down." He ordered me then I moved over and whispered in his ear.

"Go sit down." He tells me and I walk away back over to Calvin

"What was that?" Calvin asked me

"I was thirsty."

"I helped you because I like you. You're interesting to me. But you keep this up, keep thinking the normal rules apply in here, then I cannot help you." He tells me standing up And that would be a shame, because I think you're the only innocent man in here. Good luck, brother. You're gonna need it." He said and walked away

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

 _"What have you got, Garcia?"_ Emily asked her over the phone

"Actually, it's me and Elizabeth."

"Hey, uh, so I was thinking, this guy's M.O. is pretty sophisticated for a killer who's just started out. Maybe our first victim isn't his first victim. So I had Garcia compile a list of all the females with bone break injuries in New York City in the last 3 years." I tell the others

"We ruled out women over 30, girls under 18, came up with 112 names." Garcia added

 _"Did any of them have drugs in their system, specifically MDMA?"_ Walker asked

"Oh, so good, new guy, who doesn't feel new because your deep baritone voice comforts me." She answered and I smiled, "The answer is yes. But not all of them were drug tested, so we only have two that we know for sure had MDMA on board."

 _"Who are they?"_ Emily asked

"Well, there is one in particular that caught my eye." I replied

"Nancy Santiago. She's 22, she's from Long Island, and she died after she fell off a rooftop during a rave almost a year ago."

 _"There any foul play?"_ Luke asked her

"Inconclusive. There was a thunderstorm that night, so the crime scene was compromised."

"The police report says two guys saw what they thought was a male/female couple having sex in the alley behind the rave. When those two guys spotted them, he took off, left the female behind. When they got closer, they saw the girl was actually dead." I add

"The coroner said she had several broken bones from the fall, most notably a compound fracture, super serious, to her femur."

 _"Well, if there was sexual assault, do we really think that was our guy?"_ Rossi asked

 _"I want to know more. Send us everything you have on Nancy Santiago."_ Emily told her

"Done." Garcia tells them and I leaned back in the chair and sighed after she hung up the phone, "What's going on mama?" She asked me

"I just can't get his face out of my head. You should have seen his face when I showed him the note Alexander wrote him. It took everything in me not to break down right then and there."

She puts her hand on mine and I put my other on hers, "I'm so sorry hun, we will get him out of this. Okay?" She asked and I nodded my head.

"I'm gonna get some coffee. Want any?" I asked her standing up

"I'm good." She tells me and I walk out of the room wiping the tears from my eyes.

* * *

After the team got back I walked out of my office and I walked into the bull pen, I looked over at Spencer's desk while holding the note Alexander wrote him then walked over and put it on the desk in front of his computer then I heard a light hammering sound coming from Rossi's office so I walked up the stairs to his office, "Hey. What are you hammering?" I asked him walking in

"Oh, uh, just hanging up my newest acquisition.

"A 'W'?" I ask

"Well, that's not just any old W. That, my young friend, is a symbol of victory. You're not a baseball fan, are you?" He asked me and I shook my head

"No but I do enjoy a football game."

"Well, at Wrigley Field, the home of the Chicago Cubs, they fly that flag after every win."

'Wait, you're not even from Chicago." I point out

"No. But I lost a good buddy in Vietnam who was. And, uh, since they won the world series, I thought I'd commemorate it for him since he didn't live long enough to see it himself."

"That's sweet." I tell him

"Hey, what's going on with you?"

"Now that I've seen Spence locked up, it wasn't easy. I guess I'm just a little down." I mention

"Do you know how long it's been since the Cubs last won the series?"

"That's like 100 years, right?" I ask sitting down on the desk next to him

"108, to be exact. Which means that generations lived and died without ever seeing a championship. Can you imagine what that does to your psyche?" He asks, "But that city and all those fans You know what kept them going? Hope. Until finally, one night, after over a century of despair, hope won. And that's how we're gonna keep going, until we get that kid the hell out of there." He tells me and tears burned my eyes

"Hope." I whispered and Rossi stood up with me following and we face the W on his wall

"Keep it alive. 'Cause I'm afraid right now, that's all we've got."

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I sat in my cell reading the book Calvin gave me when the two guys who attacked Luis walked in, I closed my book and looked at them, "What's up, snitch?" One of them asked me, "That your girlfriend come to see you?" He asked and I hesitated, they may be on the inside but I didn't want them to know that Liz was my wife

"She's my friend." I tell them and noticed another inmate stand outside my cell to keep watch

"You never got any?" The bigger one asked then walked over to me grabbing me by my shirt, "What's wrong with you, man?!" He shouted then pushed me against the wall of my cell and the other one put a pillow case over my mouth and the bigger one hit me in the gut a few times then they pushed me onto my bed and my mouth got free for a moment

"Help!" I yelled

"Snuff him!" The bigger one said and I laid there looking up at them as the bigger one continued to hit me. _Think about Liz. Think about Liz._ I thought to myself as they continued.


	58. Chapter 58

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **A/N: Hey everyone, I know that last chapter was short and honestly this one will be too. This is just going to be a filler chapter that popped into my head the otehr day and I'm gonna try my hardest to make this a good one so I hope you enjoy.**

"Good morning." I greeted Amanda as I walked into the kitchen feeling groggy and went over to Alexander kissing him on the head, "Morning buddy." I tell him and he smiled taking a bit of his eggs then kissed Haley.

"Good morning. Sleep well?" Amanda asked me as I graba cup of coffee

"Yeah but why did you let me sleep in?" I asked then coughed

"Honey you don't look to good." I hear Diana say to me as she walked in and I looked at her.

"I'm okay just a little cough it's nothing." I try to tell her but she walked over and put her hand on my head

"You're burning up, here sit." She insisted and I sat down at the table coughing again

"It's just a cold." I said to her

"Well either way you should stay home and rest." Amanda tells me

"I can't I need to go to work, bad guys aren't gonna catch themselves."

"You won't be any use to your team if you're sick. Now stay home and rest until Spencer gets home." Diana says and I look at Amanda, it truely did break my heart that she kept forgetting where he was but it's for the best.

"But what about..."

"I'll watch the kids it's fine." Amanda said cutting me off

"You have been doing that so much lately, you need a break." I tell her

"Stop. It's fine, plus you need to rest and not worry about the kids or work until you feel better. Can't have them getting sick too." She pointed out and I grumbled because she was right, "And Cassie will be coming by to take Diana anyways so you'll have a stress free day to rest." She says standing up, "Come on buddy let's go get ready and go to the park huh?" She asked Alexander who jumped out of his seat with excitement running out of the kitchen to his room

"I love you!" I yell after him with a smile as Amanda picked Haley up out of her high chair and I blew a kiss at her, "Have fun baby." I tell her and Amanda left the room.

"So cute." Diana says about them and I smile at her then cough, "Rest, drink fluid and have some soup." She said and walked out of the room.

* * *

After everyone had left I went back to my bedroom and laid down on the bed turning on the TV, Spencer didn't like the fact that I wanted one in there but I was able to convince him using my lovely charm. I flipped through the channels and coughed before settling on one of my favorite old movies. I didn't even make it halfway through before I ended up passing out.

* * *

A loud crash of thunder woke me up and I checked the clock on my nightstand. _6:30pm? I slept for the whole day?_ I asked myself and sighed then looked at my phone seeing a missed call from Garcia so I sat up and called her back because if I didn't she sure as hell would drive out here to check on me.

 _"Penelope Garcia BAU's prettiest and wittiest tech at your services."_ She answered and I chuckled

"Hey Garcia it's me."

 _"Oh there you are! How are you felling?"_ She asked me and I went to answer but ended up coughing, _"That good huh?"_ She joked

"Ugh I slept pretty much the whole day and I still feel like crap."

 _"Well lucky for you I have prepared the Garcia's world famous chicken noodle soup, well not really world famous but it will be eventually mark my words, I'll bring that right over as soon as this case wraps up and the storm cleared. It's crazy out there."_ She tells me and I looked out the window seeing the heavy downpour. A lightning streak flashed through the sky and I swear I thought I saw someone standing in my yard but by the time the next one flashed it was gone. _Mind tricks due to sickness_ I thought to myself

"Is the case local?" I asked her getting up out of bed and headed to my bathroom putting her on speaker setting the phone on the counter and splashed cold water on my face.

 _"Yeah this time it is and it's a crazy one."_

"What's it about?" I asked picking the phone back turning the speaker off walking out of my bathroom turning the light off.

 _"Ah ah ah, no worrying about a case when you are sick missy."_

I groaned and walked into the kitchen and went to turn on the light but nothing happened, "Oh that's just great."

 _"What?"_

"Powers out." I tell her then grabbed a flash light from the kitchen drawer turning it on shining it around, "Man I hate storms."

 _"Me too but I have to go newbie is beeping in."_

"Are you ever gonna stop calling him that?" I asked her moving through the kitchen finding the candles I was gonna light

 _"Nope. By girlie I'll check in later."_ She says

"Bye." I hang up then my phone chirped _Made it home with the kids. In pool house, gonna make a fort and have a sleep over._ I read the text from Amanda and looked out the window seeing her cell phone light shine around then I saw her light some candles setting them up high away from the kids. I smiled then carried all the candles to the living room setting them down and coughed, I cleared my throat then lit them. I sat down and pulled out my tablet that thankfully had a full battery and turned the game I had on there.

After a while I got bored and set it down then grabbed my book opening it but suddenly I hear a noise come from outside, I set it down and got up looking outside, I see Cassie and Diana get out of her car and rush past the house I'm assuming to head to the pool house. They really are taking this whole leaving me alone thing seriously, I feel like I'm being quarantined.

I was just about to sit back down on the couch when I see my back door was opened, I squinted my eyebrows together in confusion walking over to it and shut it, "Damn wind." I said under my breath then sat back on the couch as my phone rang so I walked over and answered it, "Hey Emily." I greeted

 _"Hey how are you feeling?"_ She asked and I sat down

"Like crap, Amanda and the others are all hanging out in the pool house tonight making sure I rest. How's the case going?"

 _"Actually just finished it. We're heading back to the BAU now."_

"I see. Sorry I missed it." I tell her

 _"It's ok, Amanda's right you need the rest. How are you doing other then that?"_ She asked and I knew why

"I'm ok, just hate storms, plus my mind keeps playing tricks on me."

 _"What do you mean?"_ She asked

"It's probably nothing. Anyways umm.." I started to say but I ended up coughing, "I think I'm gonna get some more rest before Garcia gets here."

 _"Soup?"_ She asked and I chuckled

"Soup."

 _"All right well if you need anything call okay?"_ She asked

"I will. Bye." I hang up then hear another noise coming from down the hall, "What the.." I ask to myself as I peaked down the hall not seeing anything but the profiler in me couldn't let it go so I grabbed my flashlight and walked down the hall but then stopped at the cabinet by my room and opened it grabbing out my gun from where I keep it hidden from Alexander. I kept the safety on but raised it up holding my light up next to it and followed where I heard the noise come from which was Diana's room, I looked in gun first but didn't see anything.

I looked around the rest of the house but didn't see anything, "You're losing it Elizabeth." I tell myself and put my gun down then walked back to the living room stopping in my tracks when I see water tracks on the floor from someone's shoes. I kept calm and pulled out my phone.

 _Lock the door and activate the alarm_ I send to Amanda then opened a new message

 _911, send team_ I sent to Garcia then put the phone down as I hear a noise behind me. I grip my gun and whip around but as I did I feel something get thrown in my face and I close my eyes as they begin to burn

"Hello Agent Reid." I hear someone say

"Son of a bitch" I said recognizing the voice, I try to open my eyes but everything was blurry as I raised my gun not seeing anything then it gets knocked out of my hand and I get knocked to the ground dropping the flashlight.

"I've been waiting for this." He says and I tried to feel around for my gun but I get stopped when he grabs my hair lifting me up, "Miss me?" He asked and I whipped my head back making contact with his face and he let go.

I went to walk away feeling around but then I get tackled to the ground hitting the couch. I struggled to get away but it was no use because not only was it dark in my house but my vision was blurred and he was holding me down. I felt around the floor and found the leg of the end table, I managed to get my leg free and kicked it knocking it down on top of him, "Ahh!" He screamed, apparently the candle I had on it landed on him but I managed to get free and stood up making my way back the way I came from and kicked something I slowly but quickly got down and felt around finding my gun.

I raised it up but he wasn't in that spot anymore, just then he grabbed my hair forcing me to stand, "That wasn't nice." He says behind me and I used my back and moved backwards pushing him into the wall behind us and turned around facing him but he punched me across the face, "Now look what you made me do." He says then laughed but saw the outline of his face and punched him as well then he grabbed my throat pushing m against the other wall. I struggled against him but it was no use and he knocked my gun out of my hand again. Just then I hear sirens in the distance getting closer and he let go and went to run as I slid down the wall but I tripped him, after he fell I grabbed his foot but then felt his shoe make contact with my face and I was forced to let go.

"FBI!" I hear Luke yell as they came through my door and I sat up hearing a couple of them run past me.

"Elizabeth?" JJ asked and knelt down next to me, "What happened are you ok?"

"I'm fine, go." I tell her but just as she moved away I hear footsteps come back to us.

"Whoever that was is gone now." I hear Luke say when suddenly my power comes back on

"This is Agent Prentiss we need an ambulance at..." I hear Emily say as JJ helped me stand up and walked me over to my couch.

* * *

"Amanda and the others" I tell her

"I got it." She says and I feel her leave my side then someone sat in front of me

"Elizabeth, what happened?" Luke asked and I tried to look at him

"It was Scratch." I tell them

"What?" He asked

"Son of a bitch." Emily says

"Why would he attack you here? That's not who he is." Rossi pointed out

"I'm not sure." I said

"What did he throw in your eyes?" Luke asked touching my eyes but I flinched because it hurt

"What do my eyes look like?" I asked him

"Uh kind of red on the outside, eyes look a little red too."

"And blurry vision. It's a developer chemical that Spencer keeps in our basement. He has an old camera that can only be developed by hand." I tell them and I hear the ambulance getting closer.

"Amanda and them are just fine. She did what you said and locked the door then set the alarm. She stayed with the kids and Diana in her room." JJ told me walking into the room then the EMT's came over and checked me over. That son of a bitch was in my house and attacked me. Rossi's right, that isn't his M.O so so why?

After the EMT's flushed my eyes my vision came back a bit and I was looking at them in my bathroom mirror when I hear a knock on the door and I turned seeing Walker standing there, "How are you doing?" He asked and I gave a light chuckle

"Well a psychopath broke into my home and attacked me. Other then that I'm just peachy." I said sarcastically

"Maybe you shouldn't be involved anymore." He tells me and i look at him, "You could have been hurt or killed if we hadn't gotten here in time.."

"No. I told you this when you brought it up to me. We aren't gonna give up on taking this asshole down. He has taken to much from us already. He's not gonna win." I cut him off and he sighed.

"Well we need to be more careful then. Start using a code." He says and I nod my head

"We will catch him. I'm not giving up, no matter what."


	59. Chapter 59

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Luke is gonna join us in the field." Emily tells us walking into the round room, "Let's get started."

"Ok, earlier today, outside of Burlington, Vermont, 50-year-old Bob Joplin was found shot in the woods while hunting." Garcia informed us showing the photos on the screen.

"This is the third hunter shot in as many weeks." Tara pointed out

"Yeah. Bob Joplin joins Ron Carini and Jerry Hornsby."

"Wait. Burlington? We're consulting with the state police on another one of their cases right now." I tell Garcia and Emily

"Yes. Reba Wilson. She was stabbed 4 days ago." Emily says

"And 26-year-old Pearl Roberts was found stabbed in her home last night." Garcia asked

"Completely different MOs and victimology. Looks like we have two unsubs." Rossi pointed out

"We've seen multiple active serial killers in larger cities like Los Angeles, but Burlington has, what, only 40,000 residents?" Walker asked

"Yeah. Two unsubs in a town this small seems unlikely, but it's not impossible. The Burlington consult just became a 911. Wheels up in 30." Emily tells us and we walked out of the round room

"How are you doing?" JJ asked me as we walk down the steps

"I'm ok, I guess. Face still hurts a little bit."

"Well that's good but I meant about.." She started to say

"Spencer?" I asked and she nodded, "I don't know anymore, I mean I'm staying strong for the kids and his mom but I'm barely holding it together for myself and when I think about our last visit I just..."

"Hey," She cuts me off putting her hand on my arm, "There is no one who would be as strong as you are being right now if they were in your shoes. You both have been through so much, you'll get through this and we will get him out of there. I promise." She says and I nod my head.

* * *

"No known connections between our two unsubs." Emily tells us on the jet

"Doesn't look like it. First one is a cold, clinical sniper." Rossi pointed out

Well, he's turning hunters into the hunted. Could be a disturbed animal rights activist or eco-terrorist." Tara mentioned

"So the woods unsub is long-distance and possibly political, the exact opposite of our other guy, who is as up close and personal as you can get." JJ says

"The woods unsub started before the home invasion one did. They could be feeding off of each other, like the baseline killer and the serial shooter in Phoenix back in 2006." I point out

"We also can't rule out the obvious, that the two killers don't know about each other." Rossi said

"Garcia, where are we on any overlap between our victims?" Emily asked her as she popped up on the screen

 _"Nothing yet, although now, with 6 victims, my Venn diagram is starting to look like a Jackson Pollock painting."_

"6 victims?" Walker asked her

 _"Yes. The Vermont state police just called. They had another stabbing earlier tonight. I have sent you all the deets. Hit me back if you need anything."_ She tells us and I grabbed my tablet.

"Huh. It's the first time the home invasion unsub's killed a man." Emily pointed out

"It's also two murders in under 24 hours. He's not even taking a night off anymore." Walker adds

"When we land, we'll set up at the state police department. Later we'll need to split up the crime scenes, see what each one tells us about each unsub." Emily tells us

* * *

"Victim's name was Mike Hood, 34. Girlfriend found the body when she came over to surprise him." JJ tells me and Tara walking out of the second victims house.

"Unsub's prints and DNA were all over the place, and he didn't wear gloves. Even left the knife behind and the back door open." Tara pointed out

"Yeah, and no forensic or criminal sophistication." JJ says and my phone chirped

"Emily just sent over the initial M.E. report. Only one stab wound." I tell them

"All the other victims had multiple stab wounds. Why stop at just one this time?" JJ asked

"Uh, Mike Hood died almost immediately after being stabbed once...through the heart." I mention, reading the text Emily sent

"The hunters were all shot through the heart. Different M.O, different victimology, but a similar signature." JJ pointed out

"The other home invasion victims had multiple stab wounds, but the final fatal wounds were all through the heart as well."

"We said it was unlikely that there would be two unsubs. It's possible there's only been one this whole time." JJ says

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"20 minutes. Finish up here." Wilkins tells us in the laundry room while we finish up. I can tell you one thing for sure is Liz would let me fold more laundry now, hate to say it but I've gotten better.

"Looks like you took one of the beatings meant for me." Luis says to me as I reach for a pair of pants, "I mean, does it still hurt?" He asked

"Actually, it was not that bad."

"Well, uh, thanks for Uh...thanks." He says

"You would have done the same for me."

"No, man. Actually, I wouldn't have. Well, now that they've picked us out of the herd, they'll keep coming back." He mentioned and I folded the pants up

"Then we keep fighting."

"They don't work like that. Next time, they'll come to us with demands, and if we say no, ain't going to the infirmary. We're going to the morgue." He tells me and I look down for a moment. All I have to do is keep thinking about Liz, our children, my mom, thinking about them is what's keeping me sane right now. I can do this, I have to do this.

* * *

"So you're stuck, huh? I told you, there's no upside to being a hero in here." Calvin tells me while we sit at a table with a chess board between us

"Well, here's the thing. Luis said they would come up with demands, and that tells me that they're willing to negotiate. There's got to be something I can offer."

"I might be able to do some shuttle diplomacy. What are you offering?" He asked me

"Well, I'll do anything that isn't illegal."

"You ever hear the term 'heteroflexible'?" He asked and I cringed internally

"No. I meant I would, like, help them with their taxes or, like, teach them how to read."

"You got a visitor." A guard tells Calvin stopping our conversation.

* * *

 **Luke POV...**

"I know you?" Shaw asked me after the guard escorted him into the room

"No, but I know you. I'm SSA Luke Alvez with the BAU. We've got a lot to talk about." I tell him indicating for him to sit. I wasn't just doing this for Penelope or Reid, but I was doing this for Elizabeth as well. Penelope told me Reid didn't want Elizabeth to know about what happened so I'll make damn sure nothing else happens to him.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"The state police were finally able to find trace DNA in the woods. They compared it to the home invasion kills. It's a match." Emily tells us while we stand in the police department.

"So we have one guy. That's a lot of work to be killing both day and night." JJ pointed out

"It's clear he has the motivation to kill the poachers, but what about the stabbings?" Rossi asked us

"And why start now?" Walker asked as well

"He could be having some kind of temporary psychotic break. I mean, he's organized and controlled during the day and then chaotic at night."

"Plus, he's mission-oriented when he kills the hunters, so you would think he would feel satisfied afterwards, but no, he becomes destabilized." I brought up

"What if it's the killing that's destabilizing him and locking something worse inside of him?" Tara asked

"Dr. Jekyll turns into Mr. Hyde when the sun goes down." Rossi mentioned

* * *

 **Luke POV...**

"Let me guess. You're here checking out your boy Reid, shaking me down to make sure he's ok." Shaw says to me

"No, I'm here for you, Calvin."

"Oh, we're using first names now. Don't think you know me that well." He told me

"I know you very well. Yeah. You're revered by some at the Bureau, and abhorrent to others."

"That's a big word for a mouth-breather like you. 'Cause, let's face it, compared to Dr. Reid and the reputation of the rest of your team, you're slow, aren't you?" He asked trying to get under my skin by bullying me

"I studied you. When I was with the fugitive task force, you were exhibit A in the class on indicators of guilt, something you examine after a suspect flees."

"I didn't flee. I turned myself in." He defended

"Because your C. I. for the Russian mob was going to expose some other deep cover agents on the case. So you killed her, and then later you turned yourself in a whole year after you had killed her. Huh. I mean, it's..you had gotten away with it. What made you grow a heart?" I asked him and he just looked at me, "I got a theory. You want to hear it?" I ask

"No." He says and stands up

"You got somewhere to be?" I asked him and he laughed

"I just don't have to listen to this."

"That's your right. You know, maybe I'll share it with your son." I tell him and he looked at me, "Yeah. Your son. Your wife gave birth 6 months after you killed Elena." I said and he sat back down, "Yeah. I don't know. I'm just wondering if that had something to do with it."

"Only that I wanted to raise him with a clean conscience." He says to me

"Clean conscience."

"What?" He asked

"Yeah. Well, go with me here, ok? Elena, your C.I; she was putting our guys in danger, right? I could have killed her, too, with a clean conscience. But that's that's when my slow mind helped me out. Because I realized I didn't have a complete theory. So I had to do a little digging, and I dug into her autopsy. They found a large quantity of HCG. That's a hormone that women produce when they're pregnant." I informed him seeing his body language switch

"She wasn't pregnant."

"Well, we'll never really know, because one of the rounds during the struggle, it went right through the uterus. Our guys weren't in danger. That was never it. You got her pregnant. And you weren't gonna let her ruin your marriage or your career, so you did what you felt you had to do. Then your wife gave birth. And you looked into your newborn child's eyes, and That's when your mind started playing tricks on you. And you couldn't hack the guilt you were carrying, so you turned yourself in. How am I doing?" I asked him

"That's quite a theory."

"Let's talk about reality. Reid will not get hurt in here again, ever. If he does, I'll make you suffer." I threatened

"I'm already in prison, dude. There ain't nothin' else you can take from me."

"That's not true. You're very comfortable in here. I can take away a lot. I could take away your son." I said and he leaned back in his chair, I got him, "And his wife may not know what happened to him but trust me if she found out, whoo, you better be prepared for the rage that follows, because she'll take away a lot more then your son and your reputation." I add, "Guard!" I say standing up and the door buzzed then I left.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Back door was open again. Maybe he tried to sneak out." JJ says as we walk over to Tara

"Well, the victims' names are Jon Kreutzmann and Lyn Anastasio. This is the first time he's attacked a couple." Tara pointed out

"Yeah, one stab to each victim straight to the heart." I mentioned

"Well, bloody footprints from broken glass, but neither victim was barefoot. That means the unsub must have been. What kind of killer doesn't wear socks or shoes?" Tara asked

"One who's going through a temporary psychotic break." JJ answered

"He went after the girlfriend, he tore his foot up on the glass and he didn't even slow down. And even if he was psychotic, you would expect him to react limp, something." I said

"Ok, if it's not psychosis, what else would explain it? Our theory's off." JJ pointed out

"So we've got an unsub who kills during the night and during the day. He hasn't taken a break since we've landed." Tara brought up

"Then what condition does fit this?" I asked

"One that mimics psychosis but isn't, that allows him to ignore pain, that offers a temporary break from reality at night and return to control during the day. An altered state." Tara replied

"We need to deliver the profile." JJ says

* * *

"A sleepwalking serial killer? Is that even possible?" The sheriff asked us

"Actually, yes. In addition to sleep eating and sleep sex, there are over 70 documented cases of sleep murder." Tara told her

"Based on the unsub's injuries at last night's crime scene, he would be in immense pain. But he didn't stop. So he would only be able to ignore that pain if he suffered from such conditions as neuropathy or sleepwalking." JJ added

"And he still has great aim, so we can rule out neuropathy of the limbs." Rossi mentioned

"And that leaves somnambulism, sleepwalking. But additional contributing factors like depression, addiction, or OCD could keep his brain from reaching full REM sleep. He will wake up more tired than he went to bed." I tell them

"Psychologically, that explains why he's killing at night. He's looking for some kind of a release when he kills while he's awake that he's not getting. And his subconscious won't let him off the hook." Tara says

"That's why these home invasion murders have been so messy and chaotic." Rossi points out

"All of the control he uses to tamp down his rage when he's awake turns off once he falls asleep." Emily said

"So how do we find him?" The Sheriff asked

"We start by compiling a list of people with hunting licenses, and we will cross-check those with sleep disorders or common co-occurring psychological conditions like anxiety, OCD, and depression." Walker told her

"Have your troopers patrol for wandering suspects who looked dazed and may be limping." Rossi tells them

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"They told me what they want." Luis says to me in the laundry room, Frazier's got his personal supply coming through here and wants me to ensure its safe delivery."

"How?" I asked him

"Didn't say. I-I do this, then what are they gonna make me do?"

"Then don't. Tell them no." I said to him

"Screw that. Man, we gotta get into protective custody or something." He says and I sighed, this really wasn't gonna end well but what can I do?

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Can you describe him?" Luke asked the man who was attacked by our unsub and was laying down on a gurney

"Young guy, maybe in his 20s. He was wearing pajamas."

"How did he act?" Luke asked

"Uh, I don't know."

"Catatonic, maybe?" I ask the man

"Yeah, you could say that. You know? But after I shot at the guy, he snapped out of it. He looked confused at first and then took off running."

"Then you say he ran through the house and out the back door?" Luke asks

"Yeah. Guess he knew not to bring a knife to a gunfight."

"Thank you for your time." I tell the man as I see Tara come out from the back area of the house holding a bag and we walk over to her

"He dropped it on the way out. Found it in the backyard."

"How did he know the back door was there to begin with?" Luke asked

"He must have been here before." I point out

"You think he sleepwalked here before?" Luke asked

"No. No, he came here awake. I know what we've been missing this whole time." Tara mentioned and we head back to the car.

* * *

"You ever wonder how sleepwalkers are able to avoid crashing into walls or walking into ditches?" Tara asked us back at the station, "It's because they have this location recognition." She says pointing at the board

"It's a form of spatial awareness." JJ mentioned

"It's actually more than that. It allows them to retrace their steps back to the places they've been."

"So if they've been somewhere when they're awake, their subconscious will remember it while they're asleep." Luke pointed out

"Yeah, sleepwalkers have even been known to drive back to locations they're familiar with." Tara says

"The unsub's been so careful to hide his kills in the woods, but when he woke up at Paul's house..." I started to say

"The unsub realized he'd been killing people he deemed innocent." Rossi finished

"So he feels justified about his kills in the woods, but horrified by the others. He'll do everything he can to stay awake." Luke brought up

"We can't trust he'll succeed, and when he falls asleep, he'll start hunting again." Emily told us

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Good news, bad news. Good news is I got your case moved to Alexandria federal court." Fipna tells me in the visitor room

"The rocket docket?"

"Exactly. They don't mess around. We might be able to get you before a jury as early as next month." She tells me and I sigh for a moment in relief

"What's the bad news?" I asked her

"I can't get you into protective custody. Something's blocking the transfer. The BOP has absolute authority over where an inmate in their custody is being housed, and anything I recommend is simply that, a recommendation. But Luke called me on my way here, and he told me that you should talk to your friend Shaw, the other FBI agent in here. He says to stick close to him." She tells me and I look at her confused

"Wait, Luke told you that?" I asked her

"Yeah."

"He was here?" I asked

"Yes." She tells me and I couldn't help but think, if Garcia told Luke does that mean that Liz knows? I really hoped not because I told Garcia that I didn't want Liz to know, not yet anyways.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"The home invasions are based on locations. Those victims could have been anyone. Wrong place, wrong time." Rossi points out as we walk back to the room we were set up in.

"The unsub's got to be linked to these locations somehow." Tara mentioned

"All of the houses are on the south side of the city." Walker pointed out

"South side could mean high crime area." Luke added

"Sergeant, what are the crime statistics south of Flynn Street?" Emily asked her

"Relatively low. It's moved north, actually. That whole side of town's been gentrified."

"So what happened in those houses before then?" I asked out loud

 _"My people. I'm so glad you called. I am compiling a list of patients with sleep disorders."_ Garcia says over the phone

"Garcia, new deal. We need a full history on all of the houses the unsub struck." Emily told her

"Yeah. Previous owners, arrest records, everything you can find to connect these 5 houses." JJ adds

 _"That is a new deal, and as fast as a caffeinated cheetah riding a lightning bolt, I am on it."_ She tells us then hung up and I chuckled.

* * *

"Hey," I hear Luke say as I stand there getting some coffee, "How are you doing?" He asked me and I sighed

"Well I honestly wish people would stop asking me that." I said facing him as I stirred my coffee, "But I'm doing my best to hang in there you know? It's just...it's harder to each day I go without him here."

"I can't imagine what you're going through."

"That day I went to see him do you know what happened the night before?" I asked him and he shook his head, "Our son woke up in the middle of the night crying for daddy and it shattered me into a million pieces because I had to once again had to tell him that daddy wasn't there." I said fighting back tears setting my coffee down

"I'm sorry, and I know this something that everyone has been telling you as well but if you need anything, someone to talk to, I'm here." He says and I give a small smile

"Thank you Luke." I tell him and he wrapped me up into a hug and I sighed

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I walked into the inmate rec room walking over to Calvin as he sat there playing chess with another inmate, "Hey, can I talk to you?" I asked him

"We're in the middle of something here." The inmate told me moving his chess piece

"You just resigned," Calvin told him knocking it down, "Get lost." He says and the inmate stands up then leaves and I sit down

"Did you talk to Luke Alvez?" I asked Calvin

"Yeah."

"When? What did you guys talk about?" I ask

"Your safety. You didn't notice your new best friends are off your ass and you didn't have to exchange sexual favors to do it. You're welcome."

"And I'm grateful for that, but here's the problem..." I said but he cut me off

"There's no problem. You're welcome."

"Luis is still in trouble. I mean, especially now that they can't compromise me, they want him." I tell him

"Man, are you serious?" He asked me

"Yes.

"The deal is I save your ass. That's enough charity." He said

"All right, I'm gonna go to the guards and I'm gonna give my cell to Luis. Since they can't touch me, I can help keep him safe."

"But.." He started to say then got up and left

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"What have you got, Garcia?" Emily asked walking into the room we were in

 _"Ok, my fearless, furry friends, we all know that these houses are small, single-bedroom bungalows in up-and-coming parts of town. And they're really cute houses, if I do say so myself. After some further spelunking, it turns out that up until about 10 years ago, all of the residences were either drug dens or houses of prostitution."_

"Anyone have multiple arrests at those locations?" JJ asked

"Cross-check arrests for possession, solicitation with the list of known poachers in the area." Luke added

 _"Now we are cooking our vegetables with gas. I have 3 men. Jim Ernesto Oh, he is wheelchair bound due to a car accident. Samuel Gordon. He died of a heart attack 6 weeks ago. And Tom Pollack, who moved to California last year with his new wife."_

"Our only surviving victim said the unsub looked like he was in his 20s." Walker pointed out

 _"Well, that complicates things, 'cause all these men are in their 50s and 60s."_

"Wait a minute. When did you say Samuel Gordon died?" I asked her

 _"6 weeks ago."_

"That fits our unsub's timeline. Tell us more about him." Emily told her

"Ok, let me see. 63-year-old Samuel Gordon, poacher extraordinaire. A history of drug use. Picked up multiple times for solicitation. His wife died. He raised their only son Trey on his own. His son trey takes a fruity cocktail of heavy medications for anxiety, OCD, and borderline personality disorder."

"Those are all preconditions for sleepwalking." Tara points out

"This must be the unsub. His father's death could explain why he started killing now." Walker adds

 _"Oh, poor kid. It looks like during a police raid of a brothel, then 8-year-old Trey was found in a bedroom with a naked prostitute, and his dad was, um, busy, in another room."_ Garcia tells us and I cringe

"That's a big stressor." I point out

"So when Trey's dad died, he went after any poacher that reminded him of the guy." Rossi mentioned

"That must have not been enough, right? And while he slept, his mind pulled him back to those houses he used to go to." Luke says

 _"Ok, I'm sending you Trey's address. It's on your tablets."_

"The house where he was molested, has he killed there yet?" Tara asked her

 _"That would be a no."_

"Ok, send us that address. He may be headed there now." Emily tells her as we get up and head out

 _"122 Leon Street. It looks like Janis Weir signed a lease on the place a week ago."_

* * *

We get to the house and exit the vehicles, I hear a shot gun cock and look at Walker, "One way or another, this is gonna stop him." He says and we make our way up to the house.

"FBI! Drop the knife!" Rossi warns then Trey turned around facing us looking dazed

"Still sleeping." Luke says and Walker fired a shot off at the chair in the living room and I see Trey snap out of it waking up looking at us then dropped the knife

"Trey?" Emily asked him

"Here. I'm here."

"You know where you are?" I asked him

"This is where I was...this is not what I-I-I did it again. This was not supposed to happen. Please, I need help. Can you help me?"

"We're gonna try." Walker tells him and Luke walked over then cuffed him

"Trey Gordon, you're under arrest for the murder of 8 people..."

"8?" Trey asked

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.."

* * *

"Attention my wonderfully awesome family I declare that tonight we go out and get our drink on." Garcia says walking over to all of us as we get ready to go home, "Hmm? We've need a night to relax and unwind from the stress we have been having lately. Huh? Who's in?" She asked

"I'm in." JJ tells her and she squeals

"Yeah why not I'm in." Emily agreed

"I'm down." Luke added then Walker agrees, Rossi does then she looked at me but I hesitated.

"Oh come I need my other momma bear there and you more then any of us need a night out." She tells me and I sighed.

"All right." I tell her and she hugged me

"Ok, shall we?" She asked and held her arm up for me

"Can I meet you there? I just want to go home and change quick."

"Absolutely." She says and I smile then grab my stuff walking out of the bull pen.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I was in the laundry room folding clothes with Luis when the inmates who beat me up walked in and moved over to him, the one grabbed his hair and I rushed forward, "Stop! Stop!" I yell at them but one of the inmates held me back

"Nah, nah, no more orders from you, little man. Maybe we can't get to you, but we can get to your friend." the one who had Luis tells me

"Let him go!"

"So here's lesson number one. I know Shaw got your back, but I'm in charge. In two weeks, my shipment's coming through, and you're gonna make sure it gets to me safely. "Is that clear?" He asked me

"Spencer.." I hear Luis say and I look at him

"Is that clear?" The guy asked me pulling out a shiv

"Yes, it's clear, it's clear."

"Lesson number two Never, ever, mess with a man's stash on the inside. When you do.." He says and sliced Luis throat and I felt my gut twist, "People get hurt." He says and the one let me go, as they leave I rushed over to Luis

"Luis. It's ok. It's ok." I tell him holding a towel to his throat as he laid there, "It's ok. I'm sorry. It's ok. Guard!" I yelled and Luis gasped, "Help! Help!" I yell again.

 **A/N: So I know I've said it before but I'm so thankful to everyone who is reading and liking my story, please as always feel free to let me know what you think or tell me how I'm doing I welcome all forms of criticism. Thank you again your views mean everything to me.**


	60. Chapter 60

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **Spencer POV...**

 _"Is that clear?" The guy asked me pulling out a shiv_

 _"Yes, it's clear, it's clear."_

 _I tell him and he sliced Luis throat and I felt my gut twist, I rushed over to Luis, "It's ok." I tell him holding a towel to his throat as he laid there, Luis gasped, "Help! Help!" I yell again._

Suddenly I jolt awake catching my breath then reached under my mattress and pulled out my notebook, _Getting more and more intense. Got to fall deeper in to beat them. I've lost friends before, but not like this, not in a box where I have no control. Or do I? Starting to think like them, starting to survive like them. I'm here because I made a choice not just for me but for my family. What if that means I don't get out alive?_

I finished writing then closed it and put it back under my pillow, laid back down but just stared off into space until my eyes got heavy again and I fell asleep.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"And how come I wasn't told?" I asked Emily and Luke while we stood in Emily's office, Luke had just told me about Spencer getting beaten in jail last week and I was furious.

"Because he told Penelope not to tell you." Luke defended and I sighed

"Ok I get that but this is my husband we're talking about, I need to know these things, I could have talked to Fiona..."

"Fiona told me that the request to put him in protective custody keeps getting blocked." Emily says cutting me off.

"I talked to Calvin Shaw and told him that Reid doesn't get hurt anymore." Luke adds and I give a light chuckle.

"So you asked a former FBI who killed his informant to make sure that my husband doesn't get hurt?" I asked him and my phone chimed

"He will alright? No one will lay a hand on Reid as long as Shaw is there, I promise Luke says to me and I grab my phone reading it.

"We have a case." I tell them and walked out of Emily's office going to mine.

* * *

"Tara's giving expert testimony, Rossi's visiting Reid today, so it's just gonna be us." Emily informed us walking into the round room, "Let's get started." She told me and I clicked the remote

"You guys remember her?" I asked as the girls picture came up on the screen

"It's Katie Hammond. 15. Went missing in Manhattan about a week ago." Walker pointed out

"Close. It was 5 days ago to be exact. Today she turned 16." I point out

"Her parents must be a wreck." JJ says

"Yeah. She was supposed to meet her friends, she never showed up." Luke mentioned

"Yeah. This is the last image we have of her." Garcia said I put the security footage up on the screen.

"Oh, that's right. She left her cell phone in the cab." Luke points out

"And went off into the night without a lifeline. How did she disappear? There is cameras everywhere in the city." JJ mentioned

"Look, she just She vanishes." Garcia says

"Well, did we check subway cams, tunnels, bridge tolls?" JJ asked her

"There's no sign of her on any bus or any train. Without a vehicle lead, they don't have much to go on."

"And now that they've cleared their initial suspect, we're back at square one." Luke says

"Not exactly. Her victimology matches two cold cases Shelley Gallagher and Lisa Dewald. Both were abducted within a 5-block radius." I tell him pulling up the other images

"They could all be sisters. Why did the cases go cold?" JJ asked me

"It's unclear."

"I hate to ask, but if it's the same offender, what makes you think Katie's still alive?" Walker asked

"Because he held on to them for a week before killing them. But Katie's only been missing for 5 days. So if there is a connection, we still have a chance. C.O.D. is Cranial Blunt force trauma, but premortem he drained 3 liters of blood." I brought up

"Whether it's for consumption or collection, this unsub's got a ritualistic behavior." JJ mentioned

"A bizarre one at that." Walker adds

"We find out why he's doing it, we'll find him. Wheels up in 20." Emily tells us

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Inmates, line up. Visiting hours." I hear a guard tell us and I rolled over in my bed to the wall and drew another line for how I have been here for.

* * *

I walked in the visiting area and I saw Rossi sitting there, I moved over sitting down in front of him and smiled, "You haven't slept." He pointed out

"It's been a while."

"I heard about your friend, Delgado." He told me, "I'm really sorry, Spence. Is there anyone you can talk to?" He asked

"We have group therapy once a week. The counselor wants me to keep a journal, so I am, but I don't really think it's helping."

"How come?" He asked

"Because no one in here is honest. I mean not a single person can admit that they're terrified. If we can't agree on that one basic truth, then It doesn't really matter."

"They could just be numb to it all." He says

"Well, I'm not."

"You never will be, because you're a good person. And that's the difference. It's one of the reasons Elizabeth fell for you isn't it?" He asked and I gave a small smile.

"How is she?"

"She hanging in there, trying to at least but working with a bunch of profilers doesn't help when we can see right through her." He tells me and my heart ached, what I wouldn't give to have her in my arms again and make everything ok.

"There's a helplessness in here that causes people to do things they would never consider..." I start to say but then a buzzer goes off

"It's a lockdown. Return to your cells, now." The guard tells us

"I'll come back, OK?" Rossi tells me and I nod then stand up

"OK."

* * *

"What the hell is going on?" I hear Calvin ask Wilkins as we walk into our cells

"Cell block B got a tip about a delivery today. Tossed some cells, found a crapload of smack." He says and our cell doors close

"This is the day you're supposed to move Frazier's stuff, isn't it?" Calvin asked me when I moved closer to his cell

"Yeah. Luckily it sounds like the guards are gonna shut it down."

"Look, I know it's hard to think outside the box when you're in a box, but think about the moves. Cell block B's a patsy. Look, everyone's looking over there so you can push the stuff through here." He tells me

"Maybe. Or maybe I just won't do it, since you're protecting me."

"Do you know why they killed Delgado instead of you? That was me protecting you. There's only so far I can go." He says

"So can I."

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Hal Clayton. Thanks for coming." He greets us as we get off the elevator

"Of course. These are S.S.A's Alvez, Jareau, Reid and Walker." Emily introduced.

"Pleasure. Katie's parents are on their way."

"Do they know your theory?" Emily asked him

"No, and I want to keep it that way. If they saw what's on these boards, they'd never sleep again." He told us as we walked into another room of the building they had us set up in, "Similarities are obvious Age, coloring, vanished off the streets. But the difference is a big one. The first two vics were runaways, addicts. Turned tricks. Classic street life. Nobody out there looking for them."

"Explains why the cases went cold." Luke pointed out

"We usually see an offender build up to taking somebody like Katie. My guess is he's done this a few times that we don't know about. We should pull all missing persons who match that physical description." Emily tells us

"Those are Katie's parents." Clayton mentioned and we turn to see the parents walking in

"Do you mind if I speak to them?" I asked him

"They're divorced and it's not pretty. So, chances are you'll need two of you." Clayton told me and I looked at Walker who nodded then we left the room.

* * *

"You haven't asked me how I'm doing." Katie's mom tells me and I look at her confused, "Every time I talk to these agents, it's the first thing they want to know."

"I guess it's just the natural thing to ask."

"But you didn't." She says

"No, I didn't."

"Because you've seen so many of these cases, you know how I'm doing?" She asked

"Because it's not fair that I ask that question when I get asked it everyday." I tell her and she looked at me, "Long story."

"I don't have any words. And today. She's 16." She tells me as her voice breaks.

"I can't imagine how you feel, I have a daughter, she's 1, and I couldn't imagine what I would be going through if this happened but that's why we will do anything and everything we can to find her. I promise." I reassure her holding her hand and she nodded her head.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Hey, the guy who came to see you, was that Rossi, the one you play chess with?" Calvin asked me from his cell

"Yeah."

"He showed you how to castle strategically?" He asked

"No, that was my friend Gideon. He was killed a couple years ago."

"Damn. Hope that's not an omen for me." He says and I stayed quiet, "Hey, I'm kidding. Gotta move on, man. Delgado got himself into that mess."

"Did you know they'd kill him?" I asked him

"Look I figured they'd send a message. I got to admit I didn't think it'd be that loud."

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"I got a house full of people right now and all I want is quiet. It reminds me of when my dad died. I keep having this flash of my mom. She's sitting with her friends and they're mourning. You know? And I realized that they're all widows. Widows. It got me thinking. There's no word for a mom who loses a child. Or for a little girl who loses her world. Attie asked me the other day if she'd still be a sister if we don't find Katie." The mom tells me through tears

"Attie will always be a ? She has to believe that. OK?" I asked her and she sighed, "Listen to me. We are gonna do everything we can to find Katie, I promise you. But I'm gonna need your help."

"Please" She begged

"OK."

* * *

"What's all this?" I asked as me and Walker walked into the room Emily, Luke and JJ were in

"We found similar victimologies and M.O's all over the city." Emily told us

"Why weren't they connected?" Walker asked her

"NYPD wrote off evidence of venipuncture because these women were all addicts."

"We've got over two dozen in the past 10 years. Some of them were never found, so we can't be sure, but the ones that were, the average captivity time was 6 days." Luke added

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Reid." I hear Wilkins say and I turned to see him walking into the room with a different inmate, "Show him what to do." He says and left

"Hey, I'm Spencer."

"I'm Malcolm. Shaw told me you were cool." He tells me

"How do you know Shaw?"

"I worked with him on the outside. Long time ago. I help the good guys every now and then. Now I'm in here, so is he." He explained, "Small world. Know what I mean?" He asked

"Yeah."

"Incoming." Wilkins tells us and another inmate wheeled in a hamper which Malcolm took then I see him lift up a small towel

"Frazier told me we were the guards for his private stash." Malcolm mentioned

"I heard."

"He trust me 'cause he know I won't touch the stuff. Why'd he pick you?" He asked me

"Does it matter?"

"Nah. I heard the guards are doubling up after the lockdown. We'll take it out on the late shift. Cool?" He asked but I didn't say anything, I can't believe this is how my life is like in here.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"There's almost a kindness to this guy. I know that sounds weird, but he shows a lot of remorse." Emily points out

 _"Leaving them in the light looking like angels. Maybe he's thanking them for their sacrifice."_ Rossi mentioned over the phone

"Could be. Or maybe these women represent some Madonna figure, or the blood is a twisted communion." Walker says

 _"Let's go back to what we know. Victims have been left all over the city, which means he definitely feels at home there."_ Rossi tells us

"He's gotta have a big enough vehicle to transport them." JJ points out

"I've got Clayton's team going back 10 years looking for footage on the nights the vics went missing, also when they were found. Maybe the same vehicle shows up at more than one location." Emily said

"Look how many victims went missing from hell's kitchen. This could be his comfort zone. What if Katie went there after she got out of the cab." I brought up

 _"You mean she lied to her parents?"_ Garcia asked me

"She's 16, and that's what you do."

"Well, let's look at the cameras in that area, see if she went there that night." JJ says

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"A second discovered attack." Calvin says after I move my chess piece, "You might be unpredictable, after all."

"How do you know Malcolm?" I asked him

"Who?"

"Malcolm. He says he knows you." I told him gesturing to Malcolm

"Mm. Don't know any Malcolm. Names and faces. The only two things I'm actually good at. And chess. I'm telling you, I never met the guy."

"Hmm. I'm not going to move the drugs." I said

"They're gonna beat you again. Might even kill you."

"I'll survive. Besides, they don't really need me now that you put Malcolm in there." I point out

"What? I-I put him in there? I don't even know him."

"I think you do. Calvin I think you're the one that pulls the strings in here. You decide when to help, and you decide when to look away, and you have a lot of friends, and they're afraid of you, so they play your little game. Like you said, they don't fight it." I mention

"You're losing it. You got too much time on your hands to think of all this." He says and I just look at him, "What are you looking at?"

"I'm looking at a fisherman who cannot swim."

"Yeah? Hmm." He moved his chess piece then looked back at me, "Check."

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Guys, we are running out of time. Katie's gonna stay on this board if we don't hurry up. So what have we got?" Emily asked us

"Well, there's a pattern. Not all of the women were missing 3 liters. Some were only one." JJ points out

"The healthier the victim, the more blood they were missing." Walker adds

"It's like he's conducting experiments." I mentioned

"Maybe he's got some kind of disorder and thinks using the healthiest blood will cure it." Luke says

"Only it doesn't, so he keeps looking for the right one." Emily points out and grabbed her phone, "Hey, Garcia."

 _"Speakerphone. Captain, my captain."_

"Can you look for blood diseases that would benefit from a transfusion every 5 months?" Emily asked her

 _"Mm. I don't want to assume 'cause you know what that means. But can I presume we're talking about fatal ones?"_

"Not necessarily." Emily says

 _"All right. Just trying to nail it down, because there are a surprising number of blood diseases out there."_

"Look for patients who live in hell's kitchen." Emily told her

"He only abducts and dumps at night. Maybe he works graveyard shifts." Luke adds

"But what if that isn't by choice, but by necessity?" I ask

"Looked at the street cams of all the abduction and dump sites." Clayton tells us walking into the room and we look at the picture, "We got utility trucks and city cars, but this one came up the most. It looks like a trade van. Stolen tags, which means it's a huge risk every time he drives it."

"He can't even park it on the street." Luke mentioned

"He must have a private lot or garage." Clayton says

"Look at that. All of the windows are blacked out. Even the windshield is tinted. It's like he's paranoid about lights." JJ tells us then looked at the file, "All of the women had zinc on them."

 _"Like from sunscreen?"_ Garcia asked

"Well, there is a rare genetic disorder called Xeroderma Pigmentosum, or XP. It is a blood disease where people burn when they're exposed to light. And he's showing all the signs of avoiding light." I mention

 _"Whoa. It's rare, all right. I show no one in New York city with that condition."_ Garcia tells me and I groaned

"Well, it was a long shot."

"No, no, wait, I think you're onto something. Where can he find isolation and total darkness?" Emily asked me and I thought about it

"Underground."

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

 _I'm starting to think like them. I'm starting to survive like them. I'm here because I made a choice not just for me but for my family. And what if that means I don't get out alive?_ I think to myself as I stand in the laundry room leaning on the table deep in thought then I take a scoop of detergent out sprinkling some on the table then stuck my finger in a thing of water dropping it onto the detergent and it sizzled making me cough a little bit.

 _"There's a helplessness in here that causes people to do things they would never have considered. No one in here is honest."_ I remember saying to Rossi when he visited me, it was great to finally see him, ever since Gideon...he's become like another father to me.

 _"They could just be numb to it all." He says_

 _"Well, I'm not."_

 _"You never will be, because you're a good person. And that's the difference. It's one of the reasons Elizabeth fell for you isn't it?" He asked and I gave a small smile._

TBATG

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"We've got Katie walking down 44th between 7th and 8th ave." JJ points out as we watch the camera footage.

 _"OK, guys, here's something isolated where she was walking. It's a cash only parking lot. Property taxes owner listed as Doug Jones, Vietnam vet, died in 2007. He must have left the place to someone 'cause the taxes are still being paid, but there's no record of who that someone is."_ Garcia informed us

"OK, we'll check it out." Emily says and we leave

* * *

We get to the parking lot pulling up outside the fence then Luke cut the chain and we make our way in looking around. Me and Luke come up on a van folowed shortly by the others as Emily opened the back door while Luke opened the side one, "Clear." Luke says and I look at the floorboard

"There's a hatch." I point out and Walker moved past me

"I got it." He climbs in and grabbed a metal hook then leaned down using it to open a manhole cover.

"We'll split up. There have to be other ways in and out of here." Emily tells us then Walker climbed down and I followed shortly after. He stood in front of me at the bottom shining his light holding his gun, I did the same after I got down.

"We good?" He asked me

"Move in."

We make our way through, "We should split up." He says and I moved down a different hallway then him seeing generators and lots of underground piping all around when suddenly a pair of hands swing up at me holding a metal pipe but I blocked it seeing Katie standing there

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! It's OK. It's OK. I'm Elizabeth. It's OK. It's OK." I comforted as she dropped the pipe and hugged me, "It's OK. You're safe."

"Thank you so much."

"OK, I've got Katie. I'm gonna bring her up." I tell Walker over the radio

 _"Copy that."_

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I wheeled the laundry basket into the laundry room when I saw a pair of familiar feet laying on the ground, "Malcolm! You OK?" I asked him rushing over and saw blood coming from his nose and mouth

"They made me try it." He says, _Oh crap_ I thought to myself and he started gasping and coughing

"What'd you do?" Wilkins asked me walking in

"I found him like this."

"We need a gurney in the laundry now." Wilkins called over his radio

"Come on." I say to Malcolm then glanced at Wilkins before looking back at Malcolm, "Come on, man. Come on. Come on."

* * *

Wilkins escorted me to my cell and I walked in, "So you just found him like that." He saidm it wasn't so much a question as it was an assumption

"What happened?"

"Bad batch." He tells me and the door buzzed and started to close

"Wilkins!" I hear Calvin yell from next to me

"Ohh! All messed up, man." Calvin says and I hear him start to cough

"Medic to cell block c."

"Medic! Hey!" I hear another inmate yell, both Wilkins and another guard rushed past my cell then the buzzer goes off and I run my fingers through my hair then start to pace as a guard and an inmate rushed by

"We need two three Gurneys up here right now! Right now!"

I sat down on my bed rubbing my face the my hair again, I don't know what came over me, I never thought I would be capable of this and yet I did it. This wasn't going to end well for me.


	61. Chapter 61

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Hey, you wanted to see me?" I hear Tara ask as she opened the door to Emily's office as Walker sat in he couch and I stood by the window.

"Tara, come on in." Emily told her

"Uh, what's up?"

"I need you to go to the prison tomorrow and conduct another cognitive interview on Reid." Emily says and Tara looked at me then Walker handed her a picture from the file he was holding.

"Mr. Scratch. Where?" Tara asked

"Tegucigalpa, Honduras, last week." Walker told her, "A former associate of mine down there on business recognized him."

"I-this is huge. This puts Scratch in Latin America."

"And increases the likelihood he passed through Mexico at some point." Walker mentioned

"That's why this cognitive is so imperative. It is critical that Spencer remembers exactly what happened in that motel room in Mexico." I tell her

"Can I play devil's advocate here for a second?" Tara asked Emily

"Absolutely."

"Let's say the cognitive works, all right, and Reid puts Scratch in that motel room, 100%, no doubt about it. What changes? I mean, isn't he just another prisoner proclaiming his innocence?" Tara asked

"Tell her your idea." Emily tells Walker

"What changes is I can then petition the DOJ and the counter-terrorism center to put Scratch on a high-priority watch list."

"How?" She asked

"By massaging the definition of international terrorist. Now, that photo proves that Scratch is crossing borders from one country to another. And we already know he's targeting the FBI. Especially after he attacked Elizabeth in her home." Walker says and I shift a little

"I don't know, it sounds like a hard sell." Tara pointed out

"Well, I talked to one of my contacts at the NSA and she said they would be on board if we give them something tangible on Scratch." Walker says

"I'm going to London tonight to pursue this with my former colleagues at Interpol." Emily added

"Ok, I'll I'll give it my best shot with Reid." Tara says and looked at me, I gave her a small smile

"Tara, there's one more thing." Emily tells her, "The prison is on full lock down, but I got you an exemption from the no-visitors rule."

"How'd you manage that?"

"Medical necessity. You are a doctor, right?" Emily asked her

"I have earned a doctorate degree, yes."

"M.D, PH.D. Now's not the time to split hairs. Tomorrow, Reid is your patient, so go in there and act doctorly." Emily says

"I will make sure to pack my stethoscope."

* * *

"Emily's en route to London, so let's get started. What have you got, Elizabeth?" Rossi asked me as we gathered in the round room

"Ok, yesterday afternoon in the Saguaro Wilderness, which is just east of Tucson, Arizona, an old-timer out rock hounding stumbled upon this." I inform everyone pulling up the images of bodies tied to wooden poles in the middle of the desert, "And this." I pulled up some more images

"They were all together?" Luke asked

"Yeah. Within like 50 feet of each other."

"The staging of the bodies has the feel of a crucifixion. Could this be the work of a religious fanatic?" Walker asked

"The desert does attract its share of nut jobs. Don't forget the Manson family got their training wheels out in the Mojave." Rossi points out

"What's what's that around their neck?" Luke asked

"Shock collars."

"Torture?" Rossi asked

"Doubtful. There weren't any batteries in them." I mentioned

"So the collars are symbolic, a signature." Rossi said

"They're all wearing something over their shoulders." Walker points out

"Yeah, it was just some sort of blue, silky fabric." I said

"Well, their bodies are badly decomposed. Looks like they've been there a while." JJ says

"Preliminary M.E. report did say the 3 victims are in separate stages of decomposition." Rossi pointed out

"So he's killing them one by one over time, but now his disposal site has been discovered." Walker mentioned

"Why do I get the feeling that's not going to stop him?" Luke asked

"Because it won't. Not with another thousand miles of desert nearby for him to set up shop." I tell him

"Ok, we've got a lot of ground to cover. Let's hit it." Rossi tells us

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I stood with the guard as he opened the door to the visitation room and I saw Tara standing there, "Spencer."

"What are you doing here? Is Liz okay? My mom? The kids?" I asked her, we were on lock down so her being here I knew couldn't be good

"Oh no they're ok nothing's wrong. I might have some good news."

The guard closes the door, "Then run it through Fiona. You shouldn't be here. It's better if everyone just stays away from me right now." I tell her, after I almost killed Malcolm and the others I really shouldn't be around anyone.

"I'm here about Scratch." She says and I face her but I avoid eye contact, "Walker thinks he might have a new way to find him, but to do so, I need to walk you through another cognitive."

"I understand what you're doing, and I really appreciate it, but I-Emily already tried and it didn't work." I tell her

"That was over a month ago. You were still under the influence. As you know, distance from the incident can sometimes yield additional insights." She tells me and I rub my eye, "When's the last time you slept?"

"I don't know, which is why I don't really have the energy to do this right now."

"Well, exhaustion's not necessarily a bad thing. If your resistance is down, you might be more receptive to the cognitive. Ok?" She asked me

"Ok."

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

 _"3 victims have just been identified. I sent updates to your tablets."_ Garcia tells us popping up on the screen.

"Ok, Carol Brandom, Oscar Benitez, and Peter Jones, all in their early 20s." JJ read off her tablet

"Each one had just returned to the Tucson area after attending college out of state." Walker adds

"Exceptional students, graduated at the top of their class." Rossi pointed out

"And all three had been featured separately in local media, hometown kids done good sort of thing." Luke adds

"The public exposure must be what put them on the unsub's radar."

"So, Walker, you talked about the crucifixion element earlier. Apparently, there is a quasi-religious cult not too far away." I tell him

 _"Yeah, I already checked into that. I know I'm not the profiler here, but they didn't do it."_ Garcia tells us

"What makes you so sure?" Rossi asked

 _"Because that cult is so respectful of life Ok, they don't eat carrots because they grow in the earth. I practice non-violence with my food choices, but that's a whack-a-doodle."_

"Luke, when we land, why don't you and JJ go to the crime scene? Stephen, see what's new with the M.E. Elizabeth and I will set up with local law enforcement and talk to the victims' families. Maybe the three of them had a common enemy that we don't know about." Rossi told us

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Are you there?" Tara asked me and I opened my eyes and I bring myself back to the motel

"Yes."

"Tell me what you see." She says

"She's waiting for me. Nadie Ramos."

"Is she alone?"

"Yes. She seemed upset." I remembered as Nadie looked out of the curtain with me looking over her shoulder, "And we were standing by a window."

"Was there somebody there?" Tara asked and the motel room opens and someone came in

"Mm-hmm."

"Who is it, Spencer? Think." Tara tells me and I remembered getting knocked out

"I don't know. I blacked out."

"It's ok. It's all right. What happens when you wake up?" She asked me and I remember seeing Nadie fighting the person then she was on the ground

"She's struggling. Nadie was struggling."

"Because the other man is stabbing her." Tara pointed out and I see the attacker over Nadie with a knife

"Yeah. And I think that I should try CPR, but there's just so much blood. My heart's beating fast." I say as I remember trying to make my way over to Nadie, "And it feels like I'm moving in slow motion. Wait. Something's wrong." I flash back to seeing the knife on the ground and try to reach for it, "There's a knife And blood.

"Who has the knife?" Tara asked me and I flah to me lifting the knife up

"It's in my hand. I'm bleeding."

"Ok. Because you cut your hand." She pointed out

"It all goes blank after that."

"That's about how far you got with Emily. You're psychologically blocking whatever happens next." She mentioned

"Why?"

"I'm not sure. Uh, why don't we take a short break. Yeah?" She asked and I nodded my head, "Ok."

"So tell me about this new way to find Scratch." I say to her

"Walker says he can petition the DOJ and the counter-terrorism center to put Scratch on a high-priority watch list."

"How?" I asked

"By massaging the definition of international terrorist. Now, we have a photo proves that Scratch is crossing borders from one country to another. And he's targeting the FBI even after he..." She started to say but stopped and I looked at her.

"After he..what?"

Tara sighed, "Ok, I'm not sure I should even be telling you this because it's not my place but..." She stopped and I leaned forward, "Mr. Scratch...attacked Elizabeth in your house." She tells me and my heart stops

"What? He...is she ok? The kids?"

"She's fine, she fought him off but before that she told Amanda to lock the doors to the pool house and set the alarm. Your mom and Cassie were in there with the kids so they were all safe." She explained and I put my head in my hands then run them through my hair.

"That son of bitch." I said and looked at Tara, "She's ok?" I asked her and she nodded her head, "Then let's get back to it, I want him caught." I tell her and clear my head, I know how this could affect the cognitive so I made sure to push it back for now. It's one thing for this psychopath to stalk Jack and frame me, but going after my wife. He's lucky I'm behind bars right now.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"So Oscar Benitez was the one who initially set the unsub off. I wonder why." JJ says as we look at the board

"I watched the piece the local TV channel did on him last month. He was a hard-working kid. Humble background, got a scholarship. He was the first one in his family to go to college." Luke pointed out

"All three were like that. Each one came home to give back to the community, help make a better life for their parents and people who helped them."

"That might have thrown more salt in the unsub's wound. We should have Garcia see if other returning graduates got any type of publicity. If so, they should be in protective custody." I mention

"That's a good idea." Luke agreed

"Thanks." I hear Rossi say and he hangs up his phone, "Same DNA found on all 3 water bottles, but no hits in CODIS. Our unsub isn't in the system."

"What do you make of the shock collars?" The detective asked him

"They're used to train dogs. I mean, maybe the unsub is trying to make a statement about conformity and obedience." Luke answered

"Cookie-cutter universities churning out cookie-cutter students." I mention

"Yeah, something like that."

"It could explain the fabric draped over their shoulders, mocking the valedictorian sash each of them wore at their graduation." Rossi pointed out

"If the unsub's disapproving, envious, or both." Luke says

"Envy is one thing, roasting people to death is another. So what tipped him?" JJ asked

* * *

"Name's Joey Fletcher. Couple of dirt bikers found him." The detective informed me and Luke as we stand next to the latest victim

"10 miles from the other crime scene, but the M.O.'s the same. Dog collar, blue cloth, and the water bottle." Luke pointed out and an officer handed me the bag with the water bottle.

"He dragged another rock up close again." The detective pointed out

"It's half full. Maybe our guy was in a hurry this time." I said

"Yeah, the victim is staged to face north, just like the others," Luke mentioned then looked at his handheld GPS, "Hmm."

"What's up?" I asked him

"It's true north."

"Which means?" The detective asked

"True north is geographically accurate, unlike magnetic north."

"So he's trying to get his bearings?" The detective asks

"I hate to say it, but he's got his bearings just fine. Let's head back."

* * *

 _I grip my gun and whip around but as I did I feel something get thrown in my face and I close my eyes as they begin to burn_

 _"Hello Agent Reid." I hear someone say_

 _I raised my gun not seeing anything then it gets knocked out of my hand and I get knocked to the ground_

 _I get tackled to the ground hitting the couch. I struggled to get away but it was no use_

 _I used my back and moved backwards pushing him into the wall behind us_

 _He grabbed my throat pushing me against the other wall. I struggled against him but it was no use and he knocked my gun out of my hand again._

"Elizabeth?" I hear Luke say and I snap out of my thoughts then face him turning away from the coffee maker.

"What's up?"

"You ok?" He asked and I nodded

"Yeah." I said giving a fake smile.

"Well um, we're about to give the profile."

"Oh ok," I set my cup down and walked past him.

* * *

"The person we're looking for is a physically fit male in his early to mid-20s. Despite his youth, he's intelligent, and criminally-sophisticated." Rossi informs the department

"Because of his familiarity with the surrounding desert, we believe he is a local who owns or has access to a vehicle that can navigate rough terrain." Walker adds

"Until the most recent victim, his targets have been those who excelled at university. If the killer was an academic failure, this could be his way of lashing out." JJ points out

"Aspects of his ritual support this theory." Luke added

"And all the victims were positioned to face geodetic, or true north. It's a geographic term, but we think the unsub is using it more in a philosophical sense." I mention

"It's likely that he works a menial job, something below his abilities." Luke says

"The final victim represented a dramatic shift in victimology. Academically, Joey Fletcher was a bust." Rossi said

"So the killer's starting to lose focus." The detective brought up

"He may actually be refining his mission, inching closer to the true target of his rage. Thank you." Rossi finished

* * *

"Did Alvez say what he wanted us for?" Walker asked me as we walked through the station and I read the M.E report on the water bottle

"No. Huh. The same DNA was on the outside of the water bottle at Joey Fletcher's crime scene, but none in the water itself." I point out

"So he's not drinking it." Walker says

"Apparently not."

"Then why is he taking water to the crime scene?" Walker asked

"Hey! In here." We hear Luke say from a dark room next to us and we both walk in

"Uh, is everything ok?" I ask him

"You guys ready for a little show and tell?"

"I don't know. Third grade was a long time ago." Walker says and gave a light laugh

"Come around, I'll show you." Luke tells us and we both moved to the other sides of him

"What's with the crumpled paper?" I asked

"That is not paper. And those are boulders from the crime scene placed where we found them and relative to this stick, which represents the poles were our victims were tied."

"What's you thinking?" Walker asked

"I'm thinking we've been over-thinking. You're out there in the darkness of the desert, midnight at the oasis, but wait, 'cause here comes the sun." Luke says and turned a flashlight on shining it at the set up he has, "Rise and shine. Breakfast. Kids are off to school. And before you know it, it's 1:00. Don't grab that glass of chardonnay just yet because soon it will be 2:00, then 3:00, then 4:00."

"It's a sundial." I realized

"Life-size. With our victims represented by the coffee stir stick."

"And the rocks positioned to count off the hours." I mention

"Yeah."

"It might be his way of keeping track of the body count, like notches on a belt." Walker says

"Yeah, but the demonstration I just gave you is in reverse. The first victim is represented by 4:00."

"4, 3, 2, 1." I mention, "So he's counting down. The unsub's approaching his end game."

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Did they check the vents in the motel room?" I asked Tara while I paced, "The last time we caught Scratch, he was dosing people through the vents, which might be why I'm remembering in pieces." I said sitting down

"Rossi said that was the very first thing he checked for when they were in Mexico." She tells me, "Look, we need to start again. Now, this time I want to focus on Nadie's reaction when the door opens." She says and I close my eyes, "Is she frightened? Does she know the person?" She asked

"We were both surprised. It all happened so fast that.."

"What about you? Did you recognize him?" She asked me and I think back to the attacker who knocked me down but everything was so blurry. I put my hands on my face rubbing it

"Hmm. Mm-mmm. I'm trying, but I I can't make out his features."

"Ok, let's go back to when you were blocked. You're helping Nadie and she's not responding."

I remember kneeling down by Nadie, "There's nothing I can do."

"And what about him? I mean, you must feel him in your peripheral vision, behind you somewhere." She says and I feel his presence

"Yeah, he's behind me. And I can feel him watching me, and I'm..." I start to say but stop as I remember holding the knife then stabbed Nadie. I open my eyes feeling my gut sink down

"What is it?"

"It was me." I tell her

"What was you?"

"It's how I cut my hand, it's why he was watching me. 'Cause I was stabbing her. I killed her." I said as it all hits me

"Spencer. Spencer, that's not possible. That's not possible." She tells me and I stand up going to the door and start banging on it, "Breathe."

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Nothing. No. Joey went to a different high school. No overlap socially with the others." Luke points out to me and Rossi

"What college did Joey flunk out of?" Rossi asked him

"It was, uh, Cochrane university. It's a small liberal arts college in Ohio."

"Garcia." Rossi says

 _"Yes, sir. I'm here for you, sir."_

"Cochrane university in Ohio. What's the out-of-state tuition?" Rossi asked her

 _"Uh, yikes. $37,000 annually. That's not taking into consideration books, cost of living, ramen, beer kegs, bean bag chairs, et cetera."_

"And I thought my college was expensive." I mentioned

"Joey Fletcher's family didn't have anywhere near that kind of money. How did he pay for it?" Luke asked her

 _"He didn't. He was there on scholarship."_

"So was Oscar Benitez. It was a different college, but, uh, Garcia, check Carol Brandom and Pete Jones and see if they..."

"Uh, yeah, I'm right there with you." Garcia says cutting him off, "And the answer is yes, both Pete and Carol were there on scholarship as well."

"You're looking for a common thread, there it is. All four of them received financial aid." I point out

"But Joey was a below-average student even in high school. Garcia, does it say what kind of scholarship he received?" Rossi asked her

 _"That's gonna take a different kind of rocket to another part of the cyber universe. Good thing I'm a galaxy girl. I'll hit you back."_

"I need some coffee. You guys want any?" Rossi asked

"I'm good." Luke told him

"I'll have some." I said and Rossi nodded then walked out, I opened the file in front of me and started looking through it

"Elizabeth." I hear Luke say and I look up, "Are you ok? I know you've been getting asked that a lot but earlier..."

"I'm fine." I tell him and I looked up at him, he obviously wasn't convinced so I shut the file and sighed, "I keep going back to Scratch attacking me, I keep seeing it and...feeling it and I can't stop, I can't turn my brain off from it." I confess and he moves to the chair next to me, "I keep thinking, what if I wasn't able to fight him off would he have killed me? But then I think, no that's not right he doesn't kill he has other people do it for him, so then my mind goes to he would have gotten into the pool house where my children were, Amanda, Diana, Cassie and he would have done something to them or maybe to Amanda and made her kill me then what would that do to her." I said fighting tears and he takes a hold of my hand, "Everytime I close my eyes I see him, I may have been blinded when he threw that stuff in my eyes but I can see his face, that-that smirk he has that makes me want to hit him. He has taken so much from me, my brother, my nephew...Spencer." I stopped and wiped a tear away

"You can't let your mind go to those places, that's what is making it so hard for you right now is all of that. Look I know it's hard and I told you before if you need anyone to talk to, even more then you did just now," He says and give a light laugh, "I'm here. Ok?" He asks and I nod my head then he pulls me into a hug.

"I feel pathetic feeling this way."

"Hey," He said and I looked at him, "It's not pathetic at all, it means you are still you and not numb to it all. I remember when my partner was being cut up by the Crimson King I had nightmares for a long time but it helped knowing we caught the guy, and we will catch Scratch."

"We will. Thank you Luke." I tell him

"Anytime."

* * *

"What is it, Garcia?" Rossi asked her answering the phone

 _"I got totally sidetracked thinking that Joey Fletcher got an athletic scholarship. Boy, was I wrong, which is rare, but it happens. Turns out he won a science fair competition in Tucson."_

"He doesn't strike me as a scientific whiz kid." Walker pointed out

 _"Oh, he's not. It was really dumbed down, but it was quite the crowd pleasure. And guess what it was on. Sun dials."_ Garcia tells us and we all share a look

"What if the unsub was competing for the same scholarship?" I asked

"Science fair. Could explain why he puts cloth on the victims. Blue ribbon winner." Rossi pointed out

"And I know what he might have been doing with that bottled water. If the water was used as a conductor, it would mask the burns associated with water is a forensic countermeasure. That's why the M.E. was stumped." Walker mentioned

 _"Oh, wait, there's more. One of the other 3 finalists in that science fair contest, his project was on shock collars, as in how to make them more humane."_

"Who was it?" Rossi asked

 _"Ben Davis. I do not have an address on him yet."_

"Hurry." Walker told her

 _"You will learn in time that is the only speed I have, new guy who I'm not gonna call new guy."_

* * *

"Garcia."

 _"Sir, I know, I know, I know. The addresses should be coming to you right now. It was hard to get because Ben Davis has never lived on his own, and then his mom bounced around. I had to figure out where her disability check was going 'cause it seemed like it was going one direction, did you get it yet? Have you gotten it now?"_ She asked him

"We got it. Elizabeth, you and Alvez go." Rossi tells me and I walked away from them

* * *

"Ben Davis, FBI." Luke tells him as we bust in through the door

"Hands up. Hands where we can see them." I warn him and he bends down to pick up a heater, "Hey, hey, hey. Stay where you are."

"Ben, don't. Put it down." Luke tells him and he turns the heater on

"Whoa, stay right there." I said and he stepped into the bucket off water

"Ben, don't."

"No, listen, you don't want to do this." I say to him and exchanged a look with Luke, "Look, I'm I'm putting my gun away." I put my gun in its holster, "All right? Ok, I'm gonna leave. I'm leaving." I tell him and walked out the door shutting it making my way to the power box.

"All right. Hey. It's just us now, ok? Let's talk." I hear Luke say to him

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Is that your mother?" Luke asked him and I opened the power box and waited, "Tell me what happened. I want to help."

"It's too late for that. I always promised I'd take her to Hawaii in the future. That was her dream. But now she's dead."

"Then make her dream come true. Take her to Hawaii. You can spread her ashes out in the ocean. That way, she'll be a part of it forever." Luke says to him

"No. You won't do that. I put this down, you'll just bury her here somewhere in the dirt."

"I won't. I give you my word." Luke told him

"No, it's over." Ben says and I flipped the switch turning the power off

"Elizabeth we're clear!" Luke yells and I turn the power back on then made my way into the house.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"I cannot do this anymore, all right? I told you it was better if you all just stayed away. You're making it worse." I pleaded to Tara

"No, Spencer. Your brain is playing tricks on you. You realize that, don't you?"

"Why? Why? Because the cognitive gave you an answer you'd rather not have?" I asked her

"No, because Spencer Reid is incapable of murdering an innocent woman in cold blood."

"You have no idea what I am capable of." I tell her, she has no idea what I've done.

"Look, prison is a difficult place. You've probably had to do things in here to survive that you would never think of doing in the outside world, things that make you feel guilty or ashamed. But the brain has to handle that guilt, has to process it. And sometimes it spreads the guilt around into places it doesn't belong."

"I could see the knife in my hand." I said

"We know Scratch uses drugs to change our perception of what's real and what's not."

"What do we do now?" I asked her

"Do you want to go back in that hotel room and find out what really happened?" She asked

"Yes."

"Then say it. Not to me. Say it to yourself." She tells me

"I want to go back." I tell myself closing my eyes and I get brought back to the hotel room

"What's in your right hand?" She asked me and I see the knife on the floor away from me

"Nothing."

"Where's the knife?" She asked

"I moved it so I could get to her, and that's probably how I cut my hand." I see myself picking it up by the blade and dropping it because it cut me

"What happens next?"

"I hear a noise, like a spraying sound." I recall someone standing there spraying my face, "And I feel a mist over my shoulder, so I turn."

"Do you recognize who it is?" She asked

"No."

"Look hard. Spencer, concentrate." She tells me and I try to concentrate, "Let the image come into focus." She says and I see a blurred face but I can make out who it is

"It's him. It's him. I see him. It's Scratch. It's Scratch. It's Scratch. And he's drugging me." I tell her and I hear him say something, "And I hear him say something. He says something. He says..."

"What what does he say?" She asked me

 _"It's time. Time to go. Time to go."_

"Says, time to go. Time to go, then she just walked out of there like she didn't have a care in the world." I explain

"Wait, wait a minute."

"Like she wanted me to chase her." I continue

"Spencer, stop." Tara tells me and I look at her, "You keep saying her." She says to me

"'Cause it wasn't Scratch who framed me. It was a woman."


	62. Chapter 62

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **WritingHealstheHeart- I love getting your reviews and thank you again on the advice on making these chapters better. I hope I can continue to catch your attention.**

 **As for everyone else who reviews I love hearing your feedback and please if you have any suggestions for this story like what you would like to see let me know.**

 **Anyways I hope you continue to enjoy :)**

"A woman?" I asked Tara

"Yeah. He was very clear about it. He remembered her hair, her painted fingernails."

"So she killed Nadie Ramos." Luke points out

"Yes. He says he saw her do it."

"Ok, but what about Scratch?" Garcia asked her

"He says he remembers her spraying some kind of fine mist in his face."

"Which is consistent with Scratch's M.O." I said

"Right. Be he does not recall seeing Scratch at all." Tara tells me and I sigh looking down

"You're sure this memory is accurate? You said he manufactured a false memory earlier in the cognitive." Rossi tells her

"And he is sleep-deprived, which can interfere with memory." JJ adds

"Right, that's true, but that false memory was directly related to the stress he's currently experiencing. This was different. He was not projecting. Look, in my opinion, this is a credible recollection." Tara mentioned

"Ok, so that could mean that Scratch is manipulating another victim suffering from dissociative identity disorder." I said, I wanted nothing more then for this to be linked to him, we would have a better shot at catching him.

"Or he's working with a full-fledged accomplice for the first time." Walker adds

"What woman would willingly associate herself with Scratch?" Garcia asked

"And why would Scratch risk taking on a partner?" Luke asked as well

"That's what we need to find out. We'll start by checking all of the women in the database we compiled of D.I.D. patients." Emily tells us

"Wait, how was he?" Garcia asked reading my mind

"He's, um, he's having a hard time." Tara says and I feel Emily put her hand on my arm

"We gotta get him out of there, you guys." Garcia says

"We will, but right now it's late, and we're no good to him running on fumes. Clear your heads, get some rest if you can, we'll start fresh in the morning." Emily says to us and Garcia hugged me.

* * *

"Thought you said we should start fresh in the morning." Rossi says to Emily as we both walk into her office

"So what are you both still doing here?" She asked us

"Same as you." I tell her, "I'm not stopping until I bring my husband home."

* * *

"This one hits close to home. Stephen's friend from the BAP, Sam Bower, was hospitalized yesterday after being poisoned." Emily informs us

"What kind of poison?" Luke asked

"That's still unknown, but there's a whole team of doctors trying to figure it out." Garcia answered

"Stephen was with him at the hospital. Initial symptoms mimicked a heart attack. But whatever it is, it was irradiated." Emily mentions

"Wait, an irradiated poison? What's the prognosis?" Tara asked

"Right now it's wait, see, and hope for the best. He's already showing signs of radiation sickness, which is all kinds of terrible." Garcia says

"Was Stephen contaminated?" I asked Emily

"His exposure was minimal. They put him through decontamination protocol and he's about to be cleared."

"What do we know about Sam Bower?" Rossi asked

"Uh, 54 years old. Recently went through an acrimonious divorce about a year ago. He has one adult son who's a sophomore at Emory university in Atlanta." Garcia informed us

"Our biggest suspect pool comes from his work at the BAP. In the field, he was primarily stationed in Russia and he worked in counter-intelligence." Emily mentioned

"He could make a lot of enemies in that line of work." Luke points out

"I hate to raise the possibility, but because of the victim's connection to Stephen, should we consider Scratch?" JJ asked and I tensed

"Scratch always attacks through family. If he'd wanted to get to Walker, he would have gone right for Monica and the kids." I answered

"The KGB and the FSB are both notorious for poisoning enemies of the state." Tara brought up

"Absolutely correct. And that goes all the way back to the original Vladimir Lenin. In 1918, he survived an assassination attempt. When he found out that the bullets used to shoot him were dipped in poison, he became obsessed." Garcia says

"He started a secret lab called the 'special room' its sole purpose was to weaponize poisonous substances to assassinate people anonymously, and that lab still exists to this day. Putin uses it." I add

"Yes. Litvinenko's 2006 poisoning from polonium-210 is the most famous in recent history, but cyanide, dioxin, thallium, sodium fluoride, those have all been used as murder weapons by Russian operatives." Garcia continued

"Quite a repertoire." Rossi says

"Those are just the ones that have been identified. Poison breaks down very quickly, so it's incredibly hard to trace, especially when it's masked by other symptoms." Tara told us

"Bower was primarily involved in cultivating human assets, with an emphasis on the intersection of Russian business graft and political corruption." Emily says

"What was his cover?" JJ asked

"He was working as an American entrepreneur trying to garner Russian capital." Garcia answered

"His cover might have been blown." Rossi pointed out

"Or maybe he was onto something bigger than he realized. Did anybody talk to him about it?" Luke asked

"Walker's on it. Let's see what else we can find." Emily tells us

* * *

I stood at the counter getting some coffee when my phone beeped, I looked and it was a message from Fiona. I sighed and put it down on the counter a little harder then I wanted to.

"Elizabeth?" I hear JJ ask and I turned to face her, "You ok?"

"No. No I'm not." I tell her and handed her my phone showing her the message. After she looked at it she walked over to me and pulled me into a hug.

"It's gonna be ok." She tries to reassure me but honestly I was getting tired of hearing it.

I pulled away, "JJ, I know you're just trying to be supportive but if one more person tells me that I swear I'll scream. I don't need sympathy from anyone I just need my husband and the father of my children home already." I tell her and walked away, I instantly regretted it and I'm sure JJ understands that but I just can't take the pity parties anymore.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"A continuance? How long?" I asked Fiona

"6 weeks."

"I don't understand. The Alexandria district court is the rocket docket." I tell her

"I know. But there are delays because of the arresting officers' limited availability."

"Because they have to travel from Mexico to Virginia?" I asked her

"And because they have domestic testimony obligations. This this is the price we're paying for getting the case moved back to the States. I'm working directly with the warden on getting extra visiting privileges."

"I don't know if I can..." I started to say

"Spencer, listen to me. There is a strategic silver lining here. These extra 6 weeks give the BAU time to track down the woman that you remembered."

"Have they made any progress?" I asked

"They're pouring everything they have into locating her, including your wife," She tells me and I give a small smile while looking at the table, sounds like her. "And now that you remember that big detail that the other person in the room was a woman.."

"I might remember more." I finished

"I know how hard this is, but our best hope is exonerating you before a verdict. And these 6 weeks could be a blessing in disguise." She tells me and I lightly nod my head.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Dmitri Sobchek isn't looking good for this." Rossi tells us as him and Emily walk over to us

"He doesn't have a motive and his alibi seems to check out." Emily adds

"Ok, well, unfortunately there's nobody else that crossed paths with Bower that could be a fit for this." Garcia pointed out

"It seems like we're right back where we started." Luke mentions

"Well, if Sam Bower wasn't targeted specifically, we might be off on our victimology. I mean, this could be broader than just him." I brought up

"Stephen said Sam's condition is worsening. His pancreas is compromised and his kidneys are failing." Emily tells us

"Garcia, check hospitals in the Beltway area and see if anyone else has been admitted with heart attack symptoms followed by multiple organ failure." Rossi tells her and she starts searching on her laptop

"I got two names right off the bat. Both were admitted the week before Sam Bower, and both of them are right here in D.C."

"Well, that means Sam is the third victim, and we're dealing with a serial killer." JJ says

* * *

"Like Sam Bower, our previous two victims were also federal employees. Aidan O'Hara was an attorney, civil rights division of the department of justice. Sharlene Jorif worked as an area manager, Bureau of reclamation in the department of the interior." Garcia informs us

"And both died of multiple organ failure after initially presenting with symptoms consistent with a heart attack." I add

"And it looks like all of them had the poison injected into the lower back." Garcia says

"All 3 of our victims worked in federal buildings within a 5-block radius." Luke pointed out

"Unsub doesn't appear to have a gender preference." Emily mentioned

"And no specific preference for workplace other than the federal government." JJ adds

"Different federal agencies, but each victim held a position of significant authority and prestige." Rossi says

"Looks like our unsub has a beef with the federal government." I said

"Oh, and speaking of our unsub, looks like we got another victim, Benjamin Vargas." Garcia tells us

"Federal employee?" Rossi asked her

"Yeah, he works at the IRS as a janitor."

"I think it's time we deliver the profile." Emily says and we get up

"JJ," I said stopping her as everyone walked out, "Listen I'm..."

"No need to apologize it's ok. I would probably feel the same way if I was in your shoes." She says and I smile

"Thank you JJ, you're always there for me."

"It's what family is for," She tells me and I hug her

* * *

"We're dealing with an unsub who's inducing symptoms consistent with a heart attack as a smokescreen for murder by poisoning." Emily informs the rest of the agents

"The initial symptoms soon give way to the true cause of death, which is an irradiated poison." Rossi says

"Poisoning like this is an M.O. consistent with the Russian government." JJ adds

"Except 3 out of the 4 victims aren't typical Russian targets." Emily mentioned

"This leads us to believe that this unsub is mimicking a Russian espionage M.O. in order to obscure their true motive." Tara said

"And this unsub falls into one of 3 categories." Luke tells them

"First, an embittered federal employee, someone who was fired or forcibly retired or otherwise rendered obsolete." I mention

"Second, someone who intends to profit off of marketing an antidote to the poison once positively identified." JJ adds

"This would be an unsub similar to the perpetrator of the anthrax poisonings immediately following 9-11." Rossi mentions

"And that individual hoped to benefit from selling an anthrax antidote to vulnerable businesses and the federal government." Tara says

"Or this could be an unsub with a personal grudge, which makes it totally unrelated to the federal government." Rossi added

"Someone who's using a politically charged M.O. in order to mask a very personal motivation for killing." I tell them

"This unsub shares characteristics with known product tamperers in that he's unconcerned with collateral victims as long as they help to obscure his target." Luke pointed out

"Metro police will beef up security in a 5-block radius encompassing all the federal buildings that are in question." Emily informed

"They will also be advising federal employees to be on the lookout and report any suspicious activities." I add

"At this point, the unsub has no reason to believe that law enforcement is onto him." Rossi says

"And we've decided not to publicize the attacks. As we all know, publicity surrounding these types of poisoning cases can inspire copycats. Thank you all." Emily finished

* * *

"Amanda?" I asked walking through the front door and heard laughing coming from the kitchen so I headed in there and saw Amanda sitting at the table with another girl, "Hey."

"Oh hi Elizabeth. Sorry I was caught up in Carol's story." Amanda tells me.

"Hi," The girl stands up and walked over to me, "I'm Carol Atkinson, Amanda's told me so much about you." She says extending her hand out which I shook but I felt like I already knew her.

"Have we met?" I asked her

"No, I-I don't think so. I'm the new aid the agency sent over for Diana."

"Is Diana ok? What happened to Cassie?" I asked her and went to head to Diana's room

"Diana is fine, she's just resting. Her and Cassie had it out."

"I called the agency to let them know, I'm sorry it's just you've been dealing with so much lately I just..." Amanda started to say

"Oh...that's ok um...thank you Amanda." I tell her rubbing my eyes, I have been dealing with a lot and barely sleeping because of it, "And thank you for coming on such short notice Carol."

"It's not a problem at all Diana is such an angel." She says and I smile.

"Well I'm gonna get a change of clothes and head back to the office umm..do you mind watching the kids a little longer? It's local so I'm not that far away." I asked Amanda

"Yeah it's not a problem."

"Well I better get going. Diana should be asleep for the rest of the night we had a exciting day. I'll be back same time tomorrow." Carol tells me

"Ok that sounds great, and thank you again." I tell both of them then head to my bedroom, change then kiss both my sleeping kids good night and leave.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I sat on my bed the next morning writing in my journal when my cell door opens and a guard walks in, "Writing materials are contraband." He tells me taking it away

"The counselor wants me to keep a journal."

"Contraband is contraband. Doesn't matter what your touchy-feely counselor has to say about it. Get on your feet. You got a visitor." He tells me and I stand up.

* * *

"You know that lady lawyer you got? She's the one that set this up with the warden." He tells me as he held my arm walking me to the visitation room

"Fiona?"

"Yeah. She's got 'em all worried about some civil suit over that beat down you got. You should thank her for this."

"I don't want to see any visitors right now." I tell him as he goes to open the door

"Spencer." I hear someone say from the other side of the door and it opens

"Mom."

* * *

"What is this place?" She asked me

"It's ok, Mom. You're just here to visit me. Cassie told you."

"Cassie? I sent that girl packing. Rotten little thief. She was stealing from me." She tells me

"Mom, Cassie's not a thief. She takes really good care of you."

"She stole my underwear. And the good china. And I will not tolerate that behavior." She says and I look at her confused

"Well, then, Mom, how did you get here?" I asked her calmly, "Did Liz bring you?"

"Liz is at work it was the new girl. What's her name? She's a real sweetheart." She tells me and sighed, "Oh, we gotta get out of here." She stands up and started to move around me, "I saw a back staircase down the hall."

"Mom, Mom." I said walking over to her slowly putting my hands on her to calm her down

"Let me out. The door's locked! I can't be locked in!" She panics

"You're not locked in. You're not locked in. I am."

"You? No. No, not you." She tells me

"It's a misunderstanding and it's going to be ok."

"What is this place?" She asked me

"We're in the Milburn Federal Correctional Facility." I tell her and I see the realization hit her

"A prison?"

"Yeah. It's where I'm incarcerated pending my murder trial." I say

"Because of Mexico?" She asked me

"Yeah. Because of Mexico."

"This is all my fault." She says and I shake my head, it wasn't her fault, I chose to do that for her.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Thanks for coming down here. Looks like we've got our fifth victim." Walker tells me and Luke as we meet up with him in the hospital.

"Sorry about your friend." Luke tells him

"Thanks, man."

"How you holding up?" Luke asked

"Like a shark, man, I just keep swimming forward."

"Of course. We're so glad you're ok." I tell him putting my hand on his back

"That makes two of us. Alex McLean was admitted through the E.R." Walker told us as we arrive at the next victim's room

"Same presenting symptoms as the other victims?" I asked him

"Yeah. Initially it appeared he'd had a heart attack, but blood tests confirmed the presence of an irradiated toxin in his system."

"So it's our unsub." Luke pointed out

"Only thing different here, he doesn't have a puncture site on his back." Walkers mentioned

"So how was he poisoned and why the change in M.O.?" I asked

"Exactly."

"Were his clothes contaminated?" Luke asked him

"No." Walker says and the doctor walked out, "How's he doing?" Walker asked her

"We're doing our best to keep him comfortable, but he's starting to show signs of radiation sickness just like the others. We're still trying to figure out how he was contaminated."

"Is it possible there's an injection site somewhere other than his back?" I asked her

"It's possible. I mean, a puncture site could be tiny. But so far we haven't found one."

"The other victims remembered feeling the injection." Luke mentioned

"This one didn't. I mean, he was just heading back to his desk when he felt ill."

"What about his stomach contents? Is there a test or some way to tell if they contain irradiated material?" Walker asked her

* * *

"As you can see, both the radio-graph and pet scan show radioactive material in his stomach lining. As for the pet scan, we didn't even need to use the radio tracer." The doctor informed us as we look at the X-rays.

"Because the radiation already in the system functioned as the contrast dye." Walker pointed out

"That's right. It's in his mouth, his esophagus, stomach, and the entire length of his gastrointestinal tract."

"So he ate it." I said

"Yeah. We started a gastric emptying study, but that'll take a few days."

"He knows the person who poisoned him." Walker brought up, "That's why he wasn't injected."

"If every other victim was injected in the back, that makes sense. They were strangers to the unsub, and if they were to turn around, they wouldn't have known the assailant." Luke adds

"But if Alex had turned around, he'd have known the unsub." I mention

"We gotta find out who he ate lunch with." Walker says

* * *

"Nobody. I ate alone." Alex tells us

"Where?" Walker asked him

"In the courtyard, outside my office. It was a beautiful day."

"And where did you buy lunch?" I asked him

"I brown-bagged it, like always."

"Are you married?" Luke asked him indicating to his hand

"Yeah. I haven't called her yet. I don't know what I'm gonna say."

"Did your wife pack your lunch today?" Luke asks

"Every day for the last 12 years."

* * *

"Clear!" I hear Rossi yell from down the hall as we make our way through the house checking the rooms

"Clear."

"Clear!" I tell them and walk out of the room I was in.

"Hey, we need Hazmat in here now." I hear JJ yell from down the hall

TBATG

"There's no sign of Sara McLean." Luke tells me and Tara walking into the kitchen

"She's definitely our unsub. There's radiation in the refrigerator, on the counters, and in the sink."

"All right, well, if it's in the sink, then it went down the drain." Luke pointed out

"We need to evacuate this area immediately." I said and we leave the house

* * *

"Our unsub is Sara McLean, a 47-year-old registered nurse married to victim number 5." Emily informed us as we sat at the round table looking at our tablets

"Looks like she gained access to the irradiated materials through her work in the nuclear medical departments of 15 different hospitals within the Beltway over the last 9 years." Luke mentions

"She's been stockpiling stolen irradiated material for nearly a decade and nobody noticed?" Rossi asked

"No, she changed jobs frequently, and she didn't steal from every hospital she worked at." I tell him

"All the hospitals she worked at have been notified." Garcia says

"Any of these places have her flagged as a problem?" Tara asked her

"No. She was never even fired. She just quit."

"So far, 4 of the facilities blamed the missing materials on other employees, who were terminated." Emily says

"And 5 of the hospitals, their inventory logs were hacked and altered to disguise the missing irradiated stuff." Garcia added

"This was a long, thought-out intricate plan. Why murder 5 people just to kill one husband? Why not get a divorce?" Tara asked

"Well, $5 million. She took out a life insurance policy on her husband 6 years ago." JJ answered

"So it's all about the money." Luke points out

"That, and the fact that she was willing to murder several innocent people in order to kill one." Rossi says

"Lack of empathy, guilt, and remorse indicates anti-social personality disorder." I mention

"So where is she?" Rossi asked

"If she wants to collect on his life insurance policy, she can't be in the wind." Luke says

"Yeah, pretty soon she's gonna have to play the role of shell-shocked grieving wife." JJ added

"But she doesn't know we're onto to her." Emily brought up

"Yeah, and when we spoke to McLean, he hadn't called her yet." Luke mentioned

"And he's been in a medically induced coma since then, which would give her time to hit another victim. That makes sense." Tara says

"Yeah, and I mean she's not gonna want her husband as her last victim. That would bring too much scrutiny to her." I point out

"She's gonna hit again." Luke concluded

"Ok, we'll get her photo out to Metro P.D. and get out there." Emily tells us

* * *

 _"Ok, Metro's got eyes on our unsub. She's wearing a dark-blue hoodie."_ Garcia tells us as we all get into positions near the federal buildings

 _"I do not have eyes on her. Lewis?"_ Emily asked her

 _"Neither do I."_

 _"JJ?"_

 _"I don't see her either."_

 _"Rossi."_

 _"Negative."_

 _"Elizabeth?"_ Emily asked me and I looked around seeing someone walk out a building

"I've got her." I tell them over the radio

 _"Blue hoodie. I've got her."_ Tara says as well

 _"Yeah, so do I."_ JJ says

"Sara McLean, FBI. Show me your hands." I tell her and she grabs a lady who walked past her and I drew my gun, "Sara, let her go." I warn

 _"She's got a syringe."_ Tara informed us

"I don't have a clean shot. JJ?" I asked her

 _"Neither do I."_

"Tara?" I asked

 _"Negative."_

"Emily?" I ask

 _"I don't have one either."_

"Rossi? Rossi." I said then suddenly a gunshot went off and the lady ran but Sara fell to the ground.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"You were down there because of me." My mom tells me, "Because I threw away that medicine you were trying to get me to take."

"Mom, I did what I did because I wanted to. You would have run out of medicine eventually, and Scratch would have been waiting. The same thing would have happened, it just would have taken longer."

"I'm so sorry." She says

"Mom, it's not your fault."

"I can't believe I'm losing you to this. That Liz and your children are losing you to this. Not like this. The Alzheimer's I was starting to make peace with that, but this, ohh, how can I leave you here?" She asked

"You are not losing me, my family isn't losing me and you are not leaving me here, because I'm gonna get out. The BAU will clear my name."

"There isn't time. Pretty soon I won't even remember you're my son anymore. I won't remember loving you. I-I won't remember my grandchildren or my daughter." She says

"Love isn't a memory. It's so much more than that. Remember when I was little and you first started having schizophrenic episodes?" I asked her

"Oh, I used to scare you."

"And you used to tell me that sometimes you got confused, but you never...you never stopped loving me. Because that type of love is bigger than a disease of the brain. You used to say, love is a...love is a world of its own that lives in the heart, not in the head." I say to her

"I remember. You were so little, I didn't think you would."

"Even if you forget, I never will." I reassure her

"I'm so sorry." She says and stands up moving over to me, "For everything."

"Time's up." The guard tells us walking in, "No physical contact."

"I just want to hug my son." My mom tells him

"I said step back, ma'am. Nurse is on her way down."

"JJ's gonna keep coming to visit you, ok? And you have Liz and the kids there, she's gonna help take good care of you." I tell her

"I know. And I will write to you."

"Ready, Diana?" I hear someone ask, "It's time."

"Don't rush me." My mom tells her

"It's time to go." The girl says and something familiar hits me so I turn around to face the girl and she looked familiar

"Have we met?" I asked her

"No. I'm sorry, I should have introduced myself. Carol Atkinson." She says reaching her hand out

"No physical contact." The guard tells us

"I know you."

 _"Go on, kill him, Daddy!" I hear the girl say as I open the door to the bathroom_

 _"Put the gun down and freeze!" I warn the father_

 _"Please help me!" The kidnapper begs_

 _"Listen to what she wants. She's begging you to kill somebody right in front of her. Your life has been about violence, and if you do this, Lindsey's will be, too. Do you want that?" I ask him_

 _"Kill him." The girl tells her father and he fires the gun._

"You're Lindsey Vaughn." I said as I remembered

"Um, no. Carol. Carol Atkinson. It's nice to meet you. Your mother's an angel just like your kids." She tells me and my blood boils, "So glad you had this time together. Let's go, Diana. Time to go." She tells my mom walking over to her leading her out of the room

 _"Your brain is playing tricks on you. You keep saying her."_ I remember Tara telling me

 _"Because it wasn't Scratch who framed me. It was a woman."_

I think back to the hotel room and remember the person spraying me then holding up car keys, _"Time to go. Time to go."_ it all comes into focus as the persons face becomes clear to me and I match the voice. I look out of the room and it hits me as I see the girl walk away with my mom

"Guard! Guard! Mom! Mom!" I yell running over to the glass window and pound on it feeling my heart stop.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Elizabeth," I hear Emily say walking into my office, "I just got a call from the prison, it's Reid he says it's an emergency." She tells me and I follow her.


	63. Chapter 63

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"I came as fast as I could." Rossi says walking into Emily's office and shutting the door

"Thanks. I appreciate it." Emily tells him

"Why couldn't you tell me on the phone? What happened?"

"Elizabeth, Fiona and I went to see Reid." She tells him

"And?"

 **In the prison...**

"Reid, are you ok?" Emily asked him

"It's my mom, she's in trouble."

 **BAU...**

"Were Reid and Diana scheduled to have a visit?" Rossi asked her

"He didn't think so, but it happened anyway."

"What does the nurse say?" Rossi asked me

"Cassie didn't bring Diana. Another nurse did, a Carol Atkinson. Garcia's running a search on the name now, but it's an alias." I tell him and my blood was boiling, she was right there, in my house and I didn't piece it together.

"For who?" Rossi asked

 **Prison...**

"Cassie didn't bring my mom. It was Lindsey, from Witness Protection. She pretended to be my mom's nurse. Now, I haven't figured out the mechanics yet replacing Cassie, winning my mom's trust, getting past prison security guards, but I will. I just haven't figured it out yet."

"I can't believe it." I whispered and started to pace.

"Reid..." Emily started to say

"Do you remember that...you remember, right? Both of you?" He asked me and Emily, "Her father, that case, April 2007?"

"Ok. Maybe you think you saw her..."

"Her father's Jack Vaughn, former hit man for the Irish mob." He says cutting Emily off, "He and Lindsey were in Witness Protection. Lindsey and her friend Katie were abducted, Katie was killed, and Jack murdered the unsub in front of me." He explained and I thought back to it but I don't remember Lindsey for some reason, "Do you honestly not remember any of this? Either of you?" He asked and I looked at him

"Yeah, I do. I'm sorry, I forgot." Emily tells him and he looked at me

"I can't place her."

"Liz...think. You weren't there during the arrest but you...you saw her picture." Spencer tells me and I think about it then it hits me.

"I remember. But, Spence, how could she possibly..."

"I don't know! That's why I'm telling you this. I don't know, but I know what I saw!" He says cutting me off

 **BAU...**

"Lindsey Vaughn? From that case in Chula Vista 10 years ago?" Rossi asked

"You remember it." I point out to him

"It was one of my first back. But how could it be her now? And why?" He asked

"I asked him the same thing." I tell him

"And how did that go?"

 **Prison...**

Spencer slammed his fists down on the table causing me to jump a little as he stood up, "You're not even listening to me! I know what I saw, all right?! Now find Lindsey! Find Lindsey, please!" He begs as the guard drags him out and Emily put her hand on my arm

"Hey, calm down." The guard tells him

"Get me out of here. Get me out of here! Find Lindsey!"

 **BAU...**

"Any chance he's wrong?" Rossi asked

"Well, Reid did smell Scratch's drugs before the murder, and he said there was another woman in the room with them." Emily tells him

"Well, if Lindsey took Diana to visit, where's Cassie?"

"We don't know. Her phone goes straight to voicemail. She's not returning texts, either. That never happens." I explained

"And Garcia pinged it?" Rossi asked me

"She tried, but the battery must be dead. The GPS was turned off. Walker and JJ are on their way to Cassie's place now." I tell him

"So what if this has been a Scratch-Lindsey partnership this whole time?" Rossi asked

"If that's true, given his mental state, I'm not sure Reid makes it to trial." Emily says

* * *

 **JJ POV...**

 _"Cassie's phone. Leave a message."_ I hear and hung up my phone

"Went to voicemail again?" Walker asked me

"Yeah. You know, Cassie's a professional. She would never let her battery die."

* * *

We walk up the stairs to Cassie's apartment and I knock on the door, "Diana? Cassie? It's me, Jennifer." I announced but didn't get an answer so I took the key Elizabeth gave me and unlocked the door putting my hand on my gun then we walk in looking around

"Nobody's home." Walker pointed out

"No. The scene doesn't say abduction."

"But under these circumstances, um.." He says

"Yeah. We need to call Emily."

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"We first came across the Vaughns 10 years ago when Lindsey Vaughn and her friend Katie Owen were abducted outside of a crowded movie theater by 3 men." Emily informed the others as I hand them the files.

"Ryan Phillips, the triad's dominant, tortured and strangled Katie." Rossi adds

"Jack Vaughn then took matters into his own hands, using his skills to find Lindsey." I said

"It ended when Jack murdered Phillips in front of her and Reid." Rossi mentioned

"They let them stay in the program after that?" Luke asked him

"Jack was too important a witness to cut loose."

"And no one's heard from either of them till now?" Tara asked

"That's right." Emily says

"And Lindsey, posing as a nurse named Carol Atkinson, was able to get Diana in and out of the Millburn correctional facility." I point out

"And despite all the cameras, this is the only one that picked her up." Garcia says and brought the video up on the TV making my blood boil again watching Lindsey.

"So she knew exactly where they were and how to avoid them." Luke pointed out and the phone rang

"Please tell me you have good news." I said answering it

 _"Well, Diana and Cassie aren't here."_ JJ says and my heart sinks and I feel Garcia grab my hand

 _"There's no forced entry and no signs of struggle."_ Walker mentions, _"And Cassie's car is gone."_

"Garcia, where are we on that APB of her car?" I asked her

"I don't have anything yet." She tells me

"Ok. Also, search recent traffic in and out of Cassie's apartment. Lindsey probably entered as Carol." I tell her

"Copy, copy."

"I know Diana's routine, JJ can you and Walker hit up those places first?" I asked her

 _"Sure thing."_

"I'll send you the list." I said and she hung up

"The rest of us need to find Lindsey asap." Emily tells us and we walk out of the round room

"I know a marshal that can help cut through WITSEC's red tape." Luke says

"Yeah, I'm friendly with some people at homeland security." Tara adds

"I got a buddy at the DOJ, lost a lot of money to him at poker. He owes me." Rossi tells me putting a hand on my shoulder

"Garcia, there was degraded female DNA and prints found at the crime scene. No matches in CODIS, but there might be something in WITSEC." Emily tells her

"I'll pull every favor, turn every stone." She says and walked away

"Are we gonna tell Reid?" Rossi asked

"Not yet. I don't want to add more stress for him." I tell him and he walked away

"We'll find her, Ok?" Emily says to me and I nod.

"She was right there Emily. She was in my house talking to..." I started to say then realized something, "Amanda." I said and my heart started to race.

"Go." Emily tells me and I rush down the stairs

* * *

"Amanda?!" I asked opening my front door and looked around, "Amanda?!" I called again but nothing then I hear laughing outside so I go to the back door seeing her and the kids in the pool, "Oh thank god." I said walking over

"Mommy! Look!" Alexander tells me and he put his face in the pool and blew bubbles, "See mommy?"

I sighed and smiled, "That's awesome baby."

"Everything ok?" Amanda asked me

"Um...no have you seen Diana?" I asked her

"Last time I saw her Carol was taking her to see Spencer." She tells me and I ran my hand through my hair.

"Ok..umm...we need to get the kids ready, we're gonna go hang out at my work." I tell her

"What's going on?"

I looked at my son who was sitting on the steps next to the float Haley was in, "Diana's missing." I tell her and she nodded her head then we got the kids out, dried off and dressed then loaded them and some toys into my car and headed back to the BAU.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I sat there picking at my food in the cafeteria thinking back to when I almost killed 6 inmates, "Hey, man." Malcolm says breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Hey. Malcolm."

"Good to see you, brother." He tells me and takes a bite of his sandwich, "Mm. Thought I was gonna die in there."

"I'm glad you're ok."

"I'm all good. They got the green jell-o today. So much better than the yellow." He points out and I smile

"What's the difference?" I asked him

"It's a texture thing." He says and an inmate came over and whispered in his ear then he looked at me, "You're a fed? That's gonna get you killed." He says and walked away then I looked over at Calvin who was smiling at me with some other inmates.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

Me and Luke arrive at Cassie's car that got found and we started to go through it looking for any clues but didn't find anything then I look up, "Luke." I tell him and he saw what I was looking at and pulled out his phone putting it on speaker

"Garcia."

 _"What do you need?"_

"Metro P.D. found Cassie's car and called it in immediately. No signs of her or Diana. No foul play." He tells her

"There are 3 visible cameras. One nearby and two down the way." I added

 _"I can tap into them, see what I can find."_ Then there was a pause, _"Oh, oh, uh, uh, Walker and JJ are calling in. You want me to patch you through?"_ She asked

"Please." I tell her

 _"Walker, JJ, you're on with Alvez and Elizabeth."_

 _"Hey, Elizabeth, no luck finding Cassie or Diana."_ Walker tells me

"Damn it." I whispered under my breath and Luke put his hand on my shoulder

"All right. Well, We're at Cassie's car right now. Forensically, it's a dead end, but, uh, behaviorally we might have something." Luke tells them

"It's parked down the block from a high school." I add

 _"A high school is where Jack Vaughn killed Lindsey's abductor in front of her and Spence."_ JJ says

 _"Well, placing the car there could be a taunt at us."_ Walker mentioned

"That's what I'm thinking." Luke says and I nod my head

"I can look into that. I can...Oh!"

"Garcia?" I asked her

 _"Oh, uh, uh, per you Elizabeth, I was supposed to look at the recent foot traffic in and out of Cassie's building. There is no sign of Carol Atkinson, but a Jaime Lamantia keeps popping up. She lives in unit 26 down the hall from Cassie. She paid 6 months of her rent up front in cash, and there's been not a peep from her since."_

"How's Jaime connected to Lindsey?" I asked

 _"No, no, there's no connection. You don't understand. They're the same. They're the same person. Carol Atkinson is Jaime Lamantia who is Lindsey Vaughn."_

"We're 20 minutes from Cassie's apartment." Luke says and we make our way to the car

 _"Yeah, we're 10."_ JJ told us

* * *

Me and Luke get to the apartment and I was the first one out of the car making my way inside and up the stairs to the apartment. I stopped in the doorway seeing JJ and Walker standing there and I look on the ground seeing Cassie laying there dead, "Oh my god." I put my hand over my mouth as tears came out and Luke pulled me into a hug as I cried.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I sat on my bed fiddling with my toothbrush then took it and started filing the handle against my bed frame getting it sharp enough then tore a piece of cloth wrapping it around the top part and moved it between my fingers.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Thanks for coming in, Kevin, all right? I'm sorry we couldn't talk about this on the phone." Luke tells him as they walk into Emily's office.

"No problem. How can I help?" Kevin asked

"We need access to Lindsey and Jack Vaughn." Luke told him

"I can't do that. It's protocol. I'm not allowed."

"We've linked her to an abduction/homicide of a team member's family." Luke tells him

"Ballistics confirmed the gun belonged to Jack Vaughn, but the shooter used modified hollow-point bullets. That's not Jack's M.O." Emily added

"Jack Vaughn's been a model citizen his entire time in the program. "Lindsey bailed out 5 years ago."

"Do you have any idea where she is?" I asked him

"We don't track people after they leave."

"Come on, man." Luke pleaded

"Luke, my hands are tied."

"Like in Yemen?" Luke asked him, 'Cause I'm sure the deputy director would love to know about that." Luke tells him and Kevin sighed, "I'm out of options, man."

"Give me a few hours. I can get you a meet with Jack in a neutral location, Beloit, Wisconsin, for no more than 30 minutes. Understood?"

"Thank you. We owe you." I tell him shaking his hand and he headed out the door

"Appreciate it." Luke tells him extending his hand out but Kevin walked past him and out of the office

"I'm sure that wasn't how you wanted to play it." I said to Luke

"It wasn't my first choice."

"Grab Walker. Get to the jet. Elizabeth, you're going to the prison. Reid deserves to know everything and I think it would be better coming from you." Emily tells us and I nodded my head.

* * *

"I'm so sorry, Spencer. We will find her, I promise. We'll find her, ok?" I tell him and he looked down at the table, "Ballistics came back on the gun that was used on Cassie." I said feeling my heart break again, "It's the exact weapon Jack Vaughn used when he was a mob enforcer in Boston. Lindsey must have taken it from her father. Maybe she wanted his reputation or she just wanted to make sure her dad knew what she was doing. The reasons are unimportant. What's important is you were right, and I should have believed you from the start and I didn't and I am so sorry."

"It's because she's a daddy's girl. The gun is an odd touch of sentimentality for an otherwise logistical killer. She took the gun because she's a daddy's girl, because they were inseparable." He tells me

"Yeah. Yes, we can use that. We're already trying to track him down in WITSEC."

"You need to find him. He's the key." He says

"We know."

"And hurry Liz, find my mom. Promise me you'll find my mom." He begs me and I went to grab his hand

"No physical contact" The guard tells me and I glared at him then looked back at Spencer

"I promise. I know you're scared. Try to isolate yourself." I tell him and blinked away some tears, "I love you."

"I love you too." He says with a small smile.

"I will get you out of here. I don't care what I have to do, I will get you out of here." I tell him as a couple tears fall out of my eyes

"Don't cry Liz, I hate seeing you cry."

"I can't help it, if I would have just realized who she was right away then this wouldn't..."

"You can't blame yourself, I don't. You have been so stressed lately over me being in here it..I'm not mad and I love you more then you could possibly imagine." He says and I smile at him, "You're my angel Liz."

"And I always will be."

* * *

"Thank you for meeting with me, warden." I tell him as we walk into his office, "Spencer Reid is in trouble."

"I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do for him."

"All we want is protective custody." I say to him

"In my house, that's a privilege. And your husband hasn't exactly been an altar boy."

"It's just for a few days, until we know he's safe." I begged

"Even if I wanted to, I couldn't."

"But why not?" I asked him

"The higher-ups but a block on him. He's gen pop all the way."

"But he's in extreme danger." I point out

"Who here isn't?"

"There are extenuating circumstances." I tell him

"Know how many times a day I hear that? I give in to him, the other will come crying."

"He has rights." I said

"He sure does. And those are being met, I promise you that."

"I have his lawyer standing by." I mentioned

"Look, I know the FBI don't have his back. Which means y'all are on an island." He tells me and I wanted to punch him across the face.

"You listen to me, I have had his back since I met him, since the day I married him. Don't sit there and tell me that we don't have his back because we do, all of us and if you think for one second that we aren't doing everything we can to get him out of here you're wrong." I tell him then get up and walk out.

* * *

"How'd it go with Reid?" Rossi asked me as I walked into the round room

"As expected. He thinks Lindsey's using her father's gun as a way to carry on his legacy."

"Makes sense, given her daddy issues." Rossi pointed out

"And I spoke to the warden about putting Spencer in protective custody, but he said no." I tell them

"Ok. More ballistics literally just came in on Jack Vaughn's gun, and, oh, my goodness, Lindsey has been a busy evil bee." Garcia informed us

"How busy?" Tara asked her

"That gun has been involved in 15 murders in the last 5 years."

"Single shot to the back of the head with a modified hollow-point." JJ read off the screen

"That's our Lindsey." Rossi says and I look at the screen walking over to it

"You guys see the geographical pattern?" I asked them, "All of the kills are along the U.S-Mexico border." I point out

"And each of the victims have apparent cartel ties." Garcia added

"So, Lindsey's been a cartel hit woman ever since she left the program." Tara mentioned

"Ok, but why is she using her dad's gun? That helps us, and it's risky for her." Garcia says

"It's an impulse. It's not a choice." JJ says

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

 _"The deal is I save your ass. That's enough charity."_ I remember Calvin saying as I watched him talk to another inmate

 _"I'm not gonna move the drugs."_

 _"You're losing it. Check."_

Calvin walked over to me and sat down, "You're gonna need to grow eyes in the back of your head," He tells me and I pull out my sharpened toothbrush, "because you'll never see it coming."

"I have a better idea."

"What's that?" He asked me and I stand up holding the toothbrush out and he grabbed my hand but I quickly grabbed his and stabbed it into my leg

"Aah!" I yelled and a guard came over to me as the toothbrush fell and he lowered me to the ground as I see one go to Calvin

"No, no, I didn't do it! I didn't It wasn't me, man! He did it! Look, look!" He defended and I smiled at him.

Later Wilkins walked me to solitary and I sat down on the bench in there, it wasn't the smartest plan I could come up with but it was the only way I knew of that would keep me safe.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Why would Scratch choose Lindsey? I mean, her ties to Reid are distant." Tara pointed out.

"Walker and I, we kicked it around on the flight, and we imagine that Scratch was digging further into Reid's past and he saw that Lindsey had become a contract killer. Realized she could get to him in a way that he couldn't." Luke says

"It may be logistical, too. Scratch has never run out of drugs before, but now he's a fugitive and might not be able to get them." Walker added

"Well, Lindsey knows the border. She'd be a good drug mule." I mentioned and Emily walked over

"Good news, bad news. I am on the books first thing tomorrow with Judge Frost and AUSA Martinez."

"But all we have is a theory and no support from the brass." I tell her

"That's never stopped us before."

"I guess we have 12 hours to make an airtight case for you to bring to them." JJ says

"Yes. Not only that, we also need a paper trail."

"I'll put on the coffee." Rossi tells us and Emily's phone beeped

"Excuse me."

* * *

"We leave no stone unturned." Emily tells us as her and Garcia walked in and Emily set a box down on the table opening it handing us files

* * *

"Hey, guys." Tara says looking at her computer, "Ok. I got Carol Atkinson crossing the border at Los Indios." She says and moves to the board with Luke, "There's a factory nearby that manufactures non-FDA-approved seasickness tablets. Essentially, scopolamine pills.

"Los Indios is only a 40-minute drive to Matamoros." Luke pointed out

"Looks like we've got Lindsey where we need her." Rossi adds

"Now we put the knife in her hand." I said looking back at my file

* * *

"Rick, what have you got?" Luke says answering his phone and walked out

"Well, ok, guys, Jack's gun was used in Mexico the day before Nadie's murder." JJ brings up

"What, another cartel hit?" I asked her

"No. The victim was a Victor Flores. He was a local real estate broker, a model citizen." She says handing the file to Rossi then went over to the board.

"Point-blank. Back of the head, with a modified hollow-point bullet. That's Lindsey, all right."

"Why are we only hearing about it now?" Walker asked

"Because it was in Monterrey. It's a different jurisdiction." JJ pointed out

"Ok, so, she crosses the border at Los Indios, which is very close to Matamoros, drives 3 hours west to Monterrey, kills Victor, and then drives 4 hours east to Matamoros?" I asked walking over to the board

"All possible within a day's drive." Walker mentioned

"Sure, but why go to all the trouble?" I ask

"Why pick Victor Flores? It sounds too random to be random." Emily says

"All right. All right, thanks, Rick. I owe you." Luke says walking back in hanging up his phone, "Mexican authorities found an abandoned truck last week that matches the one Reid described. It was dumped two states over." He tells us

"Did it belong to a Victor Flores?" JJ asked him

"Yeah. How'd you know that?"

"Lindsey killed him before Nadie. She must have stolen his truck, too." Rossi pointed out

"All right, well, we're making some real headway here." Luke says

"Yeah, and it's great. Guys, don't get me wrong, but it's all circumstantial. Garcia, any luck finding Lindsey's prints from her WITSEC file?" Emily asked her

"I called in every favor I can think of and then some. It's gonna take me, like, 5 more hours to cut through all this red tape."

"I have to be at the courthouse in one." Emily mentioned

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I sat in solitary thinking about everything that happened, Luis getting killed, the inmates beating me up. I was taken out of my thoughts when the door opened and Wilkins walked in, and cuffed me, "Let's go."

 _You're gonna need to grow eyes in the back of your head._

 _They're gonna beat you again. Might even kill you. You'll never see it coming._

 _You'll never see it coming._

Calvin's voice echos in my head as Wilkins opened the door to a visitation cell and walked me in then uncuffed me before walking out and the door shut

 _I can get you anywhere. I own this place._

Just then the door opened again and I saw Liz walk in and look at me, "We're taking you home." She tells me and I sigh in relief and smile as she came towards me and I pulled her into a hug as she wrapped her arms around me then I looked at her and kissed her, it was the best feeling ever finally kissing her again, I finally get to hold her, and I was never gonna let go, "I told you we weren't giving up." She says looking at me and I smiled at her then kissed her again.

"I love you."

"I love you too." She tells me

* * *

After I got changed into normal clothes me, Liz and Luke walked outside while I held Liz's hand and I saw Garcia standing there, I let go of my wife's hand to walk over and hug her.

"Let's get my mom back" I tell her and she smiled

"Yeah."

I grabbed a hold of Liz's hand again and she looked at me then we headed to the car.

* * *

We get back to the BAU and Liz brought me to the room Amanda was in with the kids, as soon as she opened the door I saw my son look up at me.

"Daddy!" He yells running over to me and I picked him up into a hug

"Hey buddy." I said as tears fell down my face then I set him down and looked at Haley who was on the floor next to Amanda, she looked at me then did something that made my heart ache with happiness. She got up with the help of the couch and slowly walked her way over to me. I looked at Liz who was equally as shocked as I was as Haley reached me and I picked her up, "You walked!" I tell her with excitement and saw Liz with her hands over her mouth and I pulled her into a hug with our son. I finally had my family back, and now I just needed to save their grandma.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"So we know Lindsey convinced Scratch to run drugs across the border." Luke points out as we gather around the table

"And that Lindsey's been operating from two locations, an apartment next to Cassie and a house in southeast D.C." Rossi adds

"And that's where we think she's keeping Diana." I tell Spencer who was next to me with his hand on my back

"Scratch isn't afraid to plot an elaborate trap. I want a full breakdown of that house before we set one foot inside." Emily tells us and the others walked out but Emily stopped the two of us and JJ

"Um Spencer. You can't officially go until you're reinstated." She tells him

"So that includes going to my house, since it's a crime scene."

"That's right. It's sealed and guarded by Metro P.D. but you are the home owner. You got it?" She asked him

"Got it." He tells her and she walked out but he stopped at the other door and I looked at him

"You all right?" I asked him and he looked at me then it hit me, "Uh, it's open." I tell him and he looked back at the door

"Of course."

"Hey," I grabbed his hand and JJ walked out giving us a moment, "I swear to you I will find her. OK?"

"I know you will. You always protect the ones you love."

I put my hand on his face, "I still can't believe you're here." I tell and he grabbed my hand as a tear fell out of my eye and he wiped it away.

"I'll never leave you again, I promise. I love you Elizabeth Reid."

"I love you too Spencer Reid." I tell him and he kissed me

"After this is all over, will you marry me...again." He asked and I looked at him shocked, "I want us to renew our vows."

"You are full of surprises." I tell him and he smiled

"Seeing our daughter walk today for the first time made me remember how lucky I am to have the 3 of you in my life. Will you marry me again Elizabeth Marie Reid?" He asked pulling me to him

"Yes." I said and kissed him.

* * *

We arrive at the house getting out of our cars and see someone move in the window, "Alvez, Lewis, take the back. Elizabeth, Walker and Rossi with me at the front." Emily tells us and we draw our guns making our way up to the house. Walker pulled out a lock picking device and unlocked the door then we move in.

 _"All right, we're in. Give us a 5-count."_ Luke says over the radio and Rossi holds his hand up. Then after the count of 5 Rossi opens the door leading to the living room

"FBI! Show your hands!" Rossi yells at the people sitting on the couch

"Hands up, now!" Tara warns as her and Luke join us

"Put it down." Walker tells the lady who was holding the envelope

"It's for you." The man tells us

"Get up, turn around, slowly." I tell them and when they faced us we saw that it wasn't Lindsey or Scratch but two random people

"Get down." Walker tells them

"This is for you." The lady tells me and I pull out a pair of gloves and turn the envelope over, "She said it was for you, for the FBI." She says and I pull out a tablet turning it on, the person on the screen made my blood boil even more

"Son of a bitch." I said

"You know who that is?" Luke asked me

"Cat Adams."

 _"Ta-da Didn't expect me, did you? Impersonating Scratch was getting tiresome. Now, if the good doctor wants his mommy back, send him to me. He knows where to find me. After all, he put me here. But then again, I kind of returned the favor, didn't I?"_

* * *

"Really? We have to deal with Cat Adams again?" Garcia asked pausing the video

"Yes. She was pulling the strings all along." Emily tells her

"And, wait, Mr. Scratch's involvement was.."

"Never part of it. Cat and Lindsey were behind the murder of Nadie Ramos and framing Spencer." I explained and Garcia switched the screen

"Why does she have it out so bad for Reid?" Luke asked

"She was loosely affiliated with a group of hit men. About a year and a half ago, Spencer outsmarted her when he pretended to be a potential customer." I tell him

"She figured out she was walking into a trap. But Reid was able to convince her to surrender by telling here he would take her to see her father." Tara added

"Did he?" Walker asked

"No. It was all a lie to get her to drop the gun." I replied, "She's been in prison ever since."

"She's been nursing a grudge for a long time. Setting up Reid, making us and him believe that is was Mr. Scratch this whole time, and now kidnapping his mother." Luke pointed out

"Where is she now?" Walker asked

"Mount Pleasant women's correctional facility." Emily tells him

"Wait, hold up. Reid has to go back to prison?"

"He just landed." She says and I tense up

"Do you really think that he can handle it?" Garcia asked, "I mean, all that Reid's been through. Do you really think he has the brain capacity to do this right now?"

"She's right. He's walking into one of the most unstable situations anyone could face. She's been in solitary confinement 6 months. We all know what that can do to the psyche of an inmate. At best, they suffer from delusions. At worst, they're psychotic." Tara explained

"I took all of that into account. That's why I didn't send Reid in there alone."

"So, what's the play here? We hope that Reid can profile his mom's location out of Cat, and we just wait until he does?" Rossi asked

"That's part one. Part two is we refocus and rebuild based on what we know, and search for any leads we missed because of our faulty assumptions." Emily says

"Well, since we're on that topic, Reid shouldn't be in there at all. He's as compromised as it gets. He hasn't even been reinstated. If we send him into the lion's den, we're giving her exactly what she wants. Now, if I'm the only one thinking this, I apologize, but..."

"No." Rossi said cutting Walker off, "You're not the only one thinking it. We could send in JJ instead." He tells Emily

"Yeah, JJ would have a cooler head. She'd be better able to assess Cat's ground game." Tara agrees

"And we'd be more likely to force a mistake if we throw Cat off from her plan." Luke adds

"Nobody's changing the plan. Am I clear?" I asked them and they all looked at me even Emily, "If we change the plan, Diana's dead. If we lose Diana, we lose Spencer from this team forever. After everything that's happened to him, after everything that's happened to us, we've made too many sacrifices for that." I tell them and Garcia put her hand on my shoulder

"So, this is what we're gonna are going to take one moment, one moment of quiet, one moment of despair, one moment of doubt, one moment of hope that Reid is strong enough for this. Did you all take your moment?" Emily asked us, "Good. Now shut it out. Shut everything out. Because nothing else matters, except for her."

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I walked into the room Cat was in with JJ behind me and I looked at the woman I haven't thought about since I arrested her, "Spencie."


	64. Chapter 64

**The Beauty and the Geek**

"Spencie."

"Where's my mother?" I asked her

"I missed you."

"What did you and Lindsey do to her? How did you..."

"Now stop." She cuts me off, "You don't get to walk in here and hiss at me like I'm the criminal. Now, we do this my way." She tells me and kicked the other chair out which I caught, "Have a seat." She says and I sit down across from her, "How was prison? Did you like it?"

"No."

"It's not fun, is it?" She asked

"Unlike you, I didn't deserve to be there."

"How did you stay sane?" She asked me, "A brain like yours needs stimulation in such a gray place."

"I worked in the laundry room and I played chess." I tell her, I wasn't going to bring Liz or my kids into this because that would give her leverage.

"That's 3, maybe 4 hours, tops. What about the other 20?" She asked

"I read."

"That's still not enough. You have to go someplace. Up here." She taps her finger to her head, "Or else you go crazy. Do you want to see where I go?" She asked me, "I'll show you. Come here." She indicated and I leaned forward

"No touching." JJ warned her but Cat ignored her and put her finger tips to my eyes

"Close your eyes." She tells me and I did, "Good. Now keep them shut. Sit back and relax.

Now, when you open your eyes, I want you to look at me like I'm the first woman you've seen after being in prison for 3 months." She tells me and I stayed focused on Liz, I'll play Cat's game but nothing and no one will ever take my attention away from my wife, "Now Open." She tells me and I open my eyes seeing a bright white room that was a little fancy and I looked at her, she was in a black dress with her hair all nicely done and I was in a nicer suit.

"Hello, Cat." I tell her

"You're here! You're really here."

"There's nowhere else I would rather be." I lied

"You're good at this. You're so good at this, I almost believe you don't want to kill me." She tells me unconvinced

"I don't want to kill you."

"No?" She asked me

"No."

"What if I let your mother die? Then would you kill me? Or would you just hurt me?" She asked and I felt sick, "Would you pin me down and leave bruises that don't go away?"

"Is that what you want?" I asked her, I hated this but I had to do it, for my mom.

"I guess I just want to know if you would. If you could."

"No." I tell her

"No?"

"It's not the kind of man I am." I said

"Do me a favor and tell blondie over there to step aside, because we're gonna play another game. And this time, we're going to find out exactly what kind of man you are." She says and I look at JJ who was reluctant to leave but did it anyways.

"Let's play." I tell her

"Lets!"

* * *

"Are you hungry?" She asked me

"No."

"Me neither." She says and I switch back into the reality she dreamed up

"So the same game as last time? I answer every question you ask honestly?" I asked her

"No, this time you get to ask the questions."

"About what?" I ask

"Well, I know a secret. About you. And you can ask me as many questions as you like to figure it out. But you only get one guess as to what it is. Now, guess correctly, I take your phone, I call our friend Lindsey, and I tell her to release your mother unharmed. If you don't..."

"Is there a clock?" I asked cutting her off

"There's always a clock. Give it to me." She indicates to my watch which I take off and hand it to her

"Now, you'll have 4 hours." She tells me and I open my mouth to talk, "Not yet. You have to wait till the second hand comes around."

"You want to give me a hint before we start?"

"Do I look like a girl that gives hints?" She asked me

"Actually you do."

"Ok, how about this? It's a secret you'll never admit to." She tells me and looked at the watch, "Go."

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Up till now, Cat Adams has only worked solo. But this is a partnership." Emily tells us as we look at the photos of Cat and Lindsey, "So we need to figure out how these two hit women were able to work together, especially when one of them was in solitary."

"And hit men are drive by profit and self-preservation. They don't take a job unless they know all the angles." Luke points out

"So, to predict their behavior, we need to ask ourselves a simple question. We know why Cat wanted revenge on Reid. Why does Lindsey?" Tara asked

"10 years ago, Reid tried to talk Lindsey's father out of one last murder. Cut to last year and she finds out her BFF Cat has been arrested by the same federal agent who tried to stop her daddy." Rossi explained

"So Lindsey's emotions trumped her professionalism.

"She could grab and kill Reid's mother without a trace, but instead, she waltzed Diana into his prison because she wanted him and us to know that she was involved." Luke mentioned

"But there's risky and there's reckless. It's kind of hard to buy that Lindsey would commit to doing all of this just because Reid kind of sort of got in her way 10 years ago. We're missing something." Emily says and her phone went off, "Oh, damn. Lindsey's APB didn't turn anything up. Neither did Diana's photo on the national center for missing adults database." Emily says and I go with my gut instinct on what I was about to do so I pulled out my phone and sent a text to Garcia

"Lindsey's too good to get caught in those dragnets. She's probably already changed cars and appearance by now." Rossi says

"Ok, I want a full breakdown on Lindsey's life. Aliases, contacts, hits, where she gets her hollow-point rounds." Emily says and Garcia gets up and leaves

"Yeah, Walker and I will take that." Tara told her

"Then I want a list of everyone who was in Cat's prison in the past year. Cat was communicating with Lindsey through a maximum security facility. Somewhere there is a weak link to her chain." Emily says and I get up and head to Garcia's office

"Hey. I-I got your text message. I'm confused. You want me to see if there are any missing children?" Garcia asked me

"No. I asked if any Amber alerts had been issued tonight."

"No. Is that important?" She asked me

"Yes. I'm gonna put one out."

"You're gonna put out Diana Reid's face and says she's a missing child?" She asked

"No, I'm gonna put Lindsey's out as an abductor. People pay attention to Ambers, and that's what we need."

"Ok. Oh I'll do it." She says and I move over to her keyboard stopping her

"Penelope, no. It's my call. Which means I'll take responsibility for it. Just pull the screen up, ok?" I asked her and she brings it up then moved out of the seat which I took over, "I need you to leave. Right now." I tell her and I hear the door shut behind me as I type in the information then load Lindsey's picture up. I knew I was breaking the rules but right now I didn't care, this was about saving my mother.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"I know what the secret is." I tell Cat

"You do?"

"Why else would you put me through all this?" I asked

"Ooh. Phrasing it in the form of a question. That way it doesn't count as a guess. Very smart, doctor."

"I'm gonna walk you through a scenario and your face is gonna tell me how close I am. From the moment I arrested you, you watched and waited for the right time to take your revenge. When you learned I was going to Mexico, you took it. You and Lindsey framed me for murder so I'd be put in prison and treated like a criminal, and then you kidnapped my mother so I would know how it feels to have a parent manipulated, because you want to prove that you and I are the same. Am I right?" I asked her and she held her hand up to her mouth and yawned

"Sorry, I couldn't hold that in any longer. What were you saying?"

"Psychopaths get bored easily." I point out

"You're right. Let's speed this up. Shall we?" She asked standing up and walked over to me sitting on my lap and I tensed. If Liz was here rigth now she would want to grab her by the hair and throw her off, "Why don't you think about all the pain you've suffered in your life. What would I capitalize on, do you think? Is it the death of your mentor, SSA Jason Gideon?" She moved her hand to my chest runnign her fingers lightly there then moved up to my lips.

"No. Because we caught the man who killed him." I tell her

"What about Agent Morgan? And your guilt over not visiting his little boy."

"I was in prison." I mention

"Yeah, but you had time before that. Why didn't you go?" She asked me

"Truthfully, I got distracted. I was trying to figure out a way to help my mom. She didn't have time. Morgan, Savannah, and little Bobby did. So there's absolutely no shame in admitting that." I say to her giving the wrong name of Morgan's son and she brushes her lips by my ear, I absolutely hated this, no woman other then my wife should be this close to me, "Morgan would understand."

"I agree. That's why that's not the secret." She whispers then gets off of me and I glance back at the observation window then back at her

"Let's bring up another thing to capitalize on, how about...the pain of almost losing your wife...twice." She says and I just look at her, yes almost losing Liz both times was hard for me and always will be but I can't so her that, I won't bring her into this.

"She's off limits, same with my children." I warn her and she raises her hands up

"Fair enough."

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Go ahead, JJ." Rossi tells her putting her on speaker

 _"So Cat has deep background on Spence. She knew about Gideon death, Morgan leaving the team for his family, and Elizabeth almost dying both times."_ JJ says and I look at Emily while Walker and Luke gave me a confused looks

"She's throwing him off-balance." I point out

"Yeah, but Spence also purposely gave the wrong name of Morgan's son, and she didn't correct him.

"She must have gotten her hands on Reid's confidential FBI file. It would mention relevant team information but wouldn't name Morgan's baby because of confidentiality reasons." Emily mentioned

"Yeah but how does she know what happened to me I thought those were in my file?" I asked

"There in both of yours because you two were dating during the first one and married the other time, it was procedure." Emily tells me

"We were thinking she's been getting help from someone inside the prison. This goes deeper than that." Rossi says

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Working deductively, the secret wouldn't be any of the topics you've already volunteered, because you wouldn't want to make it that easy on me." I point out to her as she sat there twirling my watch

"Genius, truly."

"So what is left that I wouldn't want to admit?" I asked then thought about it, "Love. Is that what this is all about, love? Or my mother?" I ask and she looks at me, "No. For you. You want me to admit that I am actually in love with you." Never going to happen.

"Don't get me wrong, I love my fairy tales, clearly, as much as the next girl, but I'm not delusional."

"Are you sure about that?" I asked her

"Very sure. So sure, in fact, that I had Lindsey leave a clue for you in your little scrapbook in your house." She tells me and I think back to when I looked through my mom's scrapbook and picked up the picture my mom put my face on when I wanted to be in the circus seeing XX-XY on the back of it, "I couldn't have you come all the way down here and make a guess until I was positive. That is until I tested positive." She says putting her hand on her stomach

"What, you're pregnant?"

"We're pregnant." She tells me and my gut knotted up and my heart stopped

"No."

"Oh, yes. Mazel tov." She says

"It's not possible. Even if you are pregnant, the baby's not mine." I argued

"Except for the part where it is."

"That's completely preposterous. You've been in prison." I point out

"So have you."

"And we've never..." I start to say

"I know. We've never..." She says and I tried to control myself, "Ask me how I did it. Come on, ask me."

"How did you do it?"

"I had Lindsey dose you in Mexico. You lost time. And I gave her very specific instructions to get you in the mood." She explained and I felt sick

"What, did she pretend to be you?" I asked her

"Why, would that have worked?"

"No." I tell her

"Yeah, I know, I know. Believe me, I know exactly where I stand on the Spencer Reid hot or not list. I told her to pretend to be your wife." She says and I feel my blood boil

"You're lying."

"Spencer, it's Elizabeth. It's ok. Spencer, Spencer.." She tells me and I flash back to the hotel room and I hear Liz's voice, "Spencer, it's Elizabeth. It's ok. Come here. Shh. You want this. It's ok. You want this." She says and I remember it

"It didn't happen."

"Hey, I was thinking, if it's a boy, we should definitely call him Spencie Junior." She says and I get up walking out and going into the observation room before I did something I was gonna regret, "But if it's a girl, I think we should call her Elizabeth or Beth for short. I mean, after all, she played such a huge role in her own conception." She continued and I watched her through the window

"Spence, we might have something." JJ tells me and I grabbed the file looking at it, " She's 3 months. The timeline matches, but that doesn't necessarily mean..." I cut her off by throwing the file at the window then rubbed my face.

"I'm sorry, it's not you. I just need a minute." I say to her and she leaves.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"JJ, you there?" Emily asked her walking into the room

 _"Uh, yeah. Yeah, go ahead."_

"So far we don't have anything on the prison employees. Somebody in there is helping her, but nobody jumps out as the obvious culprit, and it doesn't help that they're blocking us at every turn." Luke explained

"We have something, but, uh, it's out there." Tara mentioned

"I'll take out there." Emily says to her

"The gun store owner was more of a libertarian than you would think. He talked about how he never judged his customers or who they love." Walker says

"That's weird." Rossi pointed out

"Not as weird as when he mentioned Obergefell." Tara tells us and I think about it

"The Supreme Court decision that legalized gay marriage." I said

"You said we were missing something in the relationship between these two women. What if it's this?" Walker asked

"The risks that Lindsey's taking, the bond she as with Cat, it's not professional. It's romantic." Tara adds

"Well, this casts a big shadow over Lindsey's next move. By exposing their plan to us, she knows there's no happy ending, no future with Cat." Walker says

"And she's going to take Spencer's mother with her." I point out and Tara put her hand on my shoulder, "And that's the ultimate act of revenge against the guy who took her lover away."

"JJ, what do you have?" Emily asked her

 _"Will you take me off speaker. I need to talk to you and Elizabeth."_ She tells us and I look at Emily confused but I followed her out of the round room.

* * *

"Are you kidding me? Are you kidding?" Emily asked and I had my arms crossed pacing'

"This bitch should count her blessings that I'm not there." I said as anger boiled up inside me

 _"Well, here's where it gets tricky. Do we believe her or not? On the one hand, getting pregnant is a power control move straight out of the female psychopath handbook. On the other hand If her story is true..."_

"It meant she sent her lesbian lover down to Mexico to get Reid to ugh," Emily says in disgust, "No offence Elizabeth."

"Nope, none taken I'm in the same boat." I tell her and stopped pacing

"Either way, she is pregnant." JJ said

"I just...I refuse to believe it belongs to Spence." I mentioned and Emily gives me a sympathetic look

"It could be the person inside the prison who's been helping her. Getting pregnant serves two purposes Gas lighting Reid and emotional blackmail against that employee." Emily pointed out

"Yeah, but, we don't know who that guy is yet. And Alvez and Rossi aren't going to in the time they have left." JJ says and I hear Emily's phone go off. She looked at it then looked at me.

"JJ, I gotta call you back." Emily tells her and hung up, "Elizabeth?" She asked and I walked over looking at her phone. IT was the Amber Alert I sent out.

"I didn't know what else to do. I had to think of something Emily." I said and she sighed

"Do you know what will happen if..."

"If I get fired so what? At least my mother-in-law will be safe." I cut her off and she walked over to me.

"I understand why you did it, but next time keep me in the loop." She tells me and I nod my head.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Let's pretend you're telling the truth. That means I guessed it, right? The secret, the one I don't want to admit to? It's my child?" I asked Cat as I paced in the visitation room

"Is that your guess? You only get one, remember?"

"No. It's too easy." I point out

"Believe me, getting pregnant with your baby was not easy."

"You misunderstand. It's too easy emotionally. Because I can take your child from you. The child I had absolutely no role in creating, but a child that I would care for better than you." I tell her

"That's rude."

"It's true. You can't be a mother, Cat. I'm not trying to insult you. It's your psychological makeup. You literally do not have the emotional skills to care for another human being. You'd lose interest in your own baby the way a 6-year-old loses interest in a pet hamster. This baby is simply a means to an end, which is to keep me here playing your game, guessing like a fool, assuming something I never should have assumed in the first place." I explained

"And what would that be?"

"My mother's already dead." I brought up and everything in me wanted it to not be true, "She was dead before I walked in here."

"She's not dead." Cat defended

"Yes, she is."

"No, because that would be cheating and I don't cheat. You cheat." She tells me and I stand up walking over to the door

"I'm done playing."

"Get back here." She demanded and I opened the door

"Goodbye, Cat."

"I'll let you talk to her!" She says stopping me in my tracks and I look at JJ who took out her phone as I walked back into the room handing her my phone and she dialed a number then put it on speaker

 _"You're early."_ I hear Lindsey say on the other end

"Yeah, I know."

 _"Did he guess?"_ She asked Cat

"No, not yet. We need proof of life.

 _"All right. Hold on."_ Lindsey says and there was a pause, _"Spencer!"_ I hear my mom and I grabbed the phone from Cat

"Mom, Mom, are you ok?"

 _"I don't know."_ She says then I hear gunshots

"Mom!" I yelled

 _"Gotta go."_ Lindsey tells me and the line disconnected

"Mom!" I said again then looked at Cat, "What the hell was that?" I asked walking over to her

"I don't know."

"Lindsey said you were early. Was that a signal?" I asked her leaning on the table

"I don't know."

"Was that a prearranged signal to kill my mother?!" I asked getting angrier by the second

"No!"

"Tell me the truth!" I yell at her

"I am!"

"Tell me the truth!"

"I am! You want to know the truth? Your mother is an Alzheimer's-ridden moron who's getting dumber day by day, and if she's dead, it's your fault." She tells me and I pushed the table away grabbing Cat and backing her up against the wall with my hands on her throat.

"Spence!" I hear JJ yell trying to stop me but I ignored her

"I'm going to kill you."

"Spence." JJ says trying to pull me off

"I'm going to kill you."

"Spence, she's pregnant. Spence, she's pregnant! Stop it!" JJ tells me

"I'm going to kill you." I tell Cat again but JJ managed to pull me off of her

"Come on. Come on." JJ says and I look at Cat who holds her throat, I can't believe I did that. I would never lay a hand on a woman like that no matter who or what she was. I looked down at the ground then walked out of the room.

* * *

"Richmond County police just reported a gas station explosion. One victim, a male. Whatever Lindsey did, we have to assume your mom's still alive." JJ informed me as I sat against the wall with my head in my hands and I looked at her, "Hey." She sits down next to me and I look forward

"I'm really scared this is who I am now." I tell her

"No. Don't say that."

"Je..Jennifer, you don't know.." I tried to tell her

"I do know. I know two inmates, Frazier and Duerson, killed your friend Delgado in front of you And I know they wanted you to move their heroin, and I also know that if you didn't, you would have been next, right?" She asked me and I nodded my head, "Spence, anyone in your spot would have done the same thing."

"You wouldn't have."

"Yeah. Yeah, I would have, Spence. If someone was threatening my life, you bet your ass I would. It doesn't make you a bad person." She tells me, "'Cause you know who does think like that, that-that in you doing what you had to do to survive somehow makes you a psychopath? She does." JJ says then it hits the both of us and we look at each other, "She does. She does. Because she-she knows."

"That's the secret." I point out standing up and JJ followed, "What I don't want to admit about myself."

"Hold up. Let's play this out, because she will not lose to you twice. She already said that this wasn't about the two of you being the same."

"Then she's all about the game. She thinks that I cheated last time because I lied about her dad, so it's integral to her that she beats me by following the rules." I mentioned

"Yeah, but, Spence, she controls the rules, and she will change them to ensure that she wins."

"Which means that I'm locked in." I said

"Like she is."

"And she needs me locked in, playing by her rules a game I can't win, so she..." I say then it comes to me, "I got it." I tell JJ then head back into the room

"Guess that's one way to get you to put your hands on me." Cat tell me and I walked over to her

"Dance with me."

"Why?" She asked confused

"Because I don't want the people watching us to hear what I'm going to say next." I tell her and take her hand and start to dance with her. I kept thinking about how upset Liz is going to be but I also know she'll understand why I'm doing this.

 **Elizabeth POV...**

 _"You guys got this up?"_ JJ asked over the phone

"Streaming now." Garcia tells her and the video popped up of my husband dancing with the bitch I want to kill.

 _"Ok, uh, listen, you're gonna hear a lot of weird stuff, like Spence saying he is the father of Cat's baby. Don't let that distract you."_ JJ says and the others looked at me as I stood there clenching my jaw.

"Uh, I'm sorry. Full stop. Why would Spence say he's the father of..." Garcia started to ask but Emily cut her off. _He better know what he's doing._ I think to myself.

 **Spencer POV...**

"You had eyes on me while I was in prison, didn't you?" I asked her

"Spencie, don't ruin the moment."

"I don't want to, but I'm on the clock. Answer my question. Am I right?" I asked

"Yes, you're right. I wanted to make sure things were just as uncomfortable for you as they were for me."

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"That's what we missed, the inside man that's been helping them." Luke pointed out

"He didn't just work at Cat's prison, he worked at hers and Spencer's." I add

"Garcia, look for any overlap." Emily told her

"Compiling now." She says and began to search, "Here's something. Lionel Wilkins. He worked at both Mount Pleasant and the Millburn correctional facility."

"Ok, look, this guy could have gotten her pregnant, but there's no way he could have gotten his hand on Reid's file." Tara mentioned

"Well, not directly. He could have called in a favor from a friend at the Bureau." Walker says

"So someone must have wanted to screw us this whole time." Luke brought up

"Someone who's not gonna work for the Bureau much longer." Emily tells us and we look back at the screen

 **Spencer POV...**

"That's how you timed everything so perfectly. Like sending my mom and Lindsey to visit me when I thought I was at my lowest." I tell her

"Thought? You sure you weren't?"

"No, I wasn't. Because I didn't feel bad. I felt scared." I admit, "At how much I enjoyed poisoning the other prisoners. I had a hundred ways of getting myself out of that situation, and I picked the one that would cause them the most pain." I confessed

"Well, look at that. You might end up saving your mother's life after all."

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Ok, Lionel Wilkins' primary residence is in Falls Church, but I also have a second address. It's a cabin off of the Rappahannock river." Garcia informed us

"The cabin is in Lindsey's zone based on the gas stations." I point out

"Helos are on the roof warming up. Let's go." Emily tells us and we leave.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"They won't get there in time. They must be on their way, right? Your team is too good to wait around, but, you know me. I always have a contingency plan. So, they're walking into a trap." Cat tells me as we stopped dancing, "And the only way out is if you give me your phone and your guess, right now." She says and I hand her my phone then she sits down

"When we first sat down, you said you were going to show me what kind of man I am. And you have."

"Every time I touch this, you're getting warmer." She says

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

We make our way up to the cabin and head inside seeing Lindsey sitting in a chair holding a detonator as she looked at all of us but I kept my gun on her, "I'm waiting for a phone call." She tells us holding up the phone

"So are we, Lindsey." Emily tells her after putting her gun away then Lindsey looked at me with a smirk but I didn't blink, I just kept my gun on her as Emily's phone rang and she grabbed it, "Whoa whoa, it's ok. There it is."

"If this is a trick I'm going to kill all of us."

"I swear to you it's not a trick. And you'll want to hear what the person on the other end of this line has to say." Emily told her and held her phone up showing the live feed from where Spencer and Cat were.

 _"At first I was furious, because the secret had to be the baby inside you. How could it be anything else? But then I realized that somehow, you knew I liked hurting those men. Now I know it's both things."_ Spencer tells her and I see Lindsey's emotions switch

 _"So which is it, Spence? Come on. Don't fumble it now. You're at the one-yard line."_

"You're not pregnant with my child. You got pregnant with Wilkins to put me in as compromised a position as possible." He says and I see...I don't know...pain on Lindsey's face, "But it should be mine. I wish it were mine. Because you and I, we deserve each other." Spencer says and I tighten the grip on my gun, "That is the real secret." He tells her then Lindsey's phone rings

 _"Kill her."_ Cat told her, _"Lindsey, I said.."_

"You bitch. You're pregnant?" Lindsey asked her and I felt the anger

 _"Lindsey, sweetheart, it's complicated, ok?"_

"No, it's not."

"Playing the game with Reid was more important than being faithful to you. And if you do this, she wins. Don't let her win." Emily says to her and Lindsey hesitated then put the detonator down and Luke walked over to her grabbing his cuffs and I moved forward

"Where is she?" I asked her

"Down the hall, bedroom on the left."

I holster my gun and run down the hall, "Mom!" I yell and hear a muffled yell then I follow it reaching the bed room, "Mom, it's ok, I got you." I tell her going over to the bed and cut the ties on the blanket she was wrapped in and she looked at me panicking, "It's ok, it's ok just hold on." I said and freed her hands then carefully took the tape off her mouth.

"Liz.." She says and I hugged her.

"I got you." I reassured her and she hugged me back while blinked away the tears, "I got her!" I yell to the others then helped her up and walked her out of the house.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"We're clear." JJ tells me walking into the room and Cat hangs up the phone which I took back

"Is my mom ok?" I asked JJ facing her

"Yeah. She's fine."

"We do deserve each other, by the way. You guessed right." Cat tells me sitting down

"You lied, by the way. You were going to kill my mother regardless."

"Yeah, I think you really liked hurting those men. And once you cross that line, you can't ever go back." She says and I walked over to her

"Watch me. Because another thing you're wrong about. There is only one person in my life that I will ever want, and that's my wife. No matter what." I told her taking my watch of her wrist and walked out with JJ.

* * *

JJ and I get to the BAU and when the elevator door opened I saw the team standing there and Liz was next to my mom who looked at me confused, "Spencer's here." I heard Liz tell her and my mom looked at me then put her hands over her mouth and walked over, I pulled her into a hug.

"Hi, Mom." I tell her then she looked at me

"Don't leave me, ever again."

"I won't." I said to her and she hugged me again. I saw the others walk away and I moved away from my mom over to Liz and grabbed her hand making her face me, "Liz, I'm..."

"Don't." She tells me and I looked at her scared and confused then she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and kissed me. I pulled her closer feeling her smile into the kiss but then she pulled away, "No one, and I mean no one gets to touch you, or dance with you like ever again."

"Never. And what I said to her about..." I started to say but she put her finger to my lips

"Stop, it's ok, I'm not mad." She says and I looked at her, "Ok I was and all I could think about was wanting to rip her head off, but this..." She says and pulled my ring out of her pocket, "This is the promise we made to each other 4 years ago." She put my ring on my finger, "And no matter what our hearts belong to each other."

"God I love you."

"I love you t-" I cut her off by kissing her then tightened my arms and spun her around not breaking the kiss as she giggled.

"What do you say we get our children and head home?" I asked her and she smiled

"I think we can.."

"Elizabeth." JJ called and she looked at her, "Sorry but Emily needs us."

Liz sighed then looked at me, "Go ahead. I'll take them home." I tell her and she kissed me.

"You are an amazing man Dr. Reid."

She walked away and I held her hand not wanting to let go, "And you are my angel Elizabeth Reid." I tell her and she smiled then walked away.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"I didn't approve that." I hear Emily say as Me, JJ and Rossi walk into her office and I see Morgan standing there.

"You don't call, you don't write." Rossi tells him walking over and they hugged

"Rossi"

"You don't even give us a heads-up and you decide to pop in at 3:00 in the morning." JJ tell him

"Oh, blondie, come here, come here, come here." He hugs her then looked at me

"Elizabeth." He says to me and I see the look on his face then he hugged me, "I am so sorry."

"Thank you." I tell him and pulled away, "But it's all good now. He's home."

"Oh, it is so good to see all of you. Look, I wish I could say I was just here to say hello, but, um, we may have bigger problems." He tells us indicating to his phone that Emily was holding, "You see what I'm saying about that text?" He asked her, "It does not sound like Garcia. You do know what it does sound like."

"A trap." Emily says and we all look at them confused.

* * *

"I know we're all tired, but we might have a new lead on Mr. Scratch." Emily tells us and I looked at her

"What?" I asked

"Somebody did a bang-up job of cloning my cell phone to send Morgan a fake text luring him to a non-existent safe house. And whoever that somebody is has mad skills." Garcia explained

"The kind of skills Scratch has." Walker pointed out

"Were you able to trace where the hack came from?" Luke asked her and she looked at Morgan

"Do..Do you see what I have to put up with?" She asked him then looked away

"Alvez, you'll always get a location with this one. You guys are all good to go." He tells us

"Obviously Morgan can't come with us. He's a civilian now." Emily pointed out

"We'll miss you out there. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it out there in the field with you guys. I think about it every day. But between my old friends and my new friends, you guys are gonna go out there, you're gonna handle your business, you're gonna make people feel safe, and then you're gonna come home. And that's all that matters."

"Let's saddle up." Emily tells us and we walk out of the room and I stop her

"Emily, when we find Scratch, he's mine." I tell her and she nodded then we headed out.

* * *

 _"All right, Voltron, sound off."_ Garcia tells us over the radio

 _"Have we dispatched units to the location Scratch tried to lure us to?"_ Emily asked while I sat next to Walker behind JJ in the back of the SUV Luke was driving.

 _"I coordinated it before we left. They're on their way."_ Tara tells her

"SWAT will meet us on site at Scratch's house." Luke adds

 _"I know we all want this son of a bitch's head on a platter, but SWAT has to clear every single room before we step foot inside."_ Emily says and I sighed.

"Have they been briefed? This guy's traps set traps." JJ pointed out

 _"The house itself could be a setup."_ Rossi mentioned

"Or a waste of our time so he can get away." I added

"Whatever it is, he's gonna try to take us by surprise. We have to be ready for anything." Emily says then suddenly I see their SUV lose control then shortly after ours does and i grabbed the handle as we spun out of control then we stopped.

 _"Is everyone OK?"_ Emily asked all of us

"Yeah. Yeah, we're good." JJ told her then we hear a truck approaching and I look past Walker seeing a semi come towards us smashing into both vehicles and I blacked out.


	65. Chapter 65

**The Beauty and the Geek**

 **A/N: Okay so I really only watched the first episode of Season 13 so I'm gonna do that one then play catch up before I update anymore chapters so be patient with me lol. Anyways here is the next update.**

 **Luke POV...**

"What can I do?" I hear Penelope ask I help JJ walk around the SUV

"I can't see." JJ says and I try to get her to some light

"What can I do? How can I help?" Penelope asked again

"I can't see." JJ repeated and I looked at her face

"Wait. All right. I see it, ok? I see it. You got some broken glass in your scalp, JJ, ok? Just hold this till the ambulance comes, all right?" I tell her handing her a rag, "It'll be here soon."

"Stephen? Stephen?" I hear Penelope ask and I see she was no longer next to me but on the other side of the SUV and I but my hands on her shoulders

"He's gone. He's gone."

"I can't leave him alone like this." She tells me

"Luke!" I hear Matt yell and I hesitate, "Luke!" He yells again and I left Penelope and ran over to him seeing he was knelt down by Tara, "Tara, can you tell me where you're hurt?" Matt asked her

"Um, I think I'm going into shock."

"Ok. All right. I got you." He says and takes off his top shirt putting it on her

"Tara, we're gonna warm you up, all right? Bleeding internally, but we'll get some blood to your brain. All right." I tell her and bent her legs up

"Listen. You're gonna want to go to sleep. We can't let you do that. You got to stay with us, ok? Stay with us." Maat says and I see the ambulance getting closer

"Over here!" I yell then looked at the tree line seeing someone in the grass so I ran over to them and saw it was Emily, "Emily?" I asked but got no response, "Emily?!" I tried again

"Alvez!" I hear Rossi yell

"It's Emily! She's not responding!" I tell him and 2 EMT's come over and check her

"I got a pulse but we need to get her to the hospital." The one says and I nod then another one comes over with a stretcher so then I head up hill

"Where's Elizabeth?" I hear Rossi ask and I looked around with him not seeing her anywhere.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I slowly opened my eyes and looked around seeing a monitor next to me then a shelf that looked out of place when suddenly I see a mail nurse, "Where am I?" I asked him

"You were in a car crash, a bad one." He tells me and lifted up his hands taking off the bloody gloves

My heart sinks, "Oh, my god, what happened?" I asked

"Your SUV sustained the brunt of the impact. Specifically, you sustained it. Do you remember?"

"No...I.." I started to say then I think back to the SUV's spinning out of control then we get hit by a semi, "Wait. Yeah. My team." I said and tried to move

"Take take it easy, Agent Reid. Got you stabilized, but you got to stay put."

"Where am I?" I asked him and looked around, "This isn't a hospital. I've been in enough hospitals. I know how they sound, how they smell, so where the hell am I?" I asked

"You're being taken care of. We both are." He tells me and I looked at him confused

"Wait. What what does that mean?" I asked him and he started to walk away, "I don't understand you."

"Yeah. She's conscious." I hear him tell someone outside the plastic curtain then I see him walk in

"Well, hello, Elizabeth." Scratch says I feel the anger build up

"Son of a bitch."

"It's nice to see you again." He tells me and I look at him

"Did you grab all of us, huh? Are we all here? Luke! JJ!" I yelled

"No. It's just you. Your team is fine, by the way. Excuse me. I take that back. The truck I drove into your team did kill SSA Stephen Walker, whiplash, tragic, leaves behind a wife and two children, I believe." He tells me and my heart sank as I tried to fight the tears

"No."

"That's good. Get it all out." He says and I glare at him

"I will make sure you fry for this."

"Will you? Well, maybe you should take a look at yourself first because from where I'm standing, you won't be doing much of anything for the rest of your life." He says and lifted the blanket revealing my legs that were in external fixation devices and I shuddered looking away.

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

I stood at the receptionists desk and rubbed my eye when suddenly the doors opened and I saw my team being wheeled in and I looked for Liz but didn't see her.

"Spence." JJ says to me and I rushed over to her passing Luke and lightly patted his shoulder

"You ok?" I asked her as they wheeled her down the hall

* * *

"I need to call Will." She tells me sitting there holding an ice pack to her head

"I did. I did. He's on the way. JJ, where is Liz?" I asked her and she looked at me

"We don't know, we couldn't find her." She tells me and my heart started to race

"Liz is missing?" I asked her and she nodded her head

"I'm so sorry Spence." She says and I look down, "Oh, Monica, Stephen's wife. Someone needs to call her and tell them." She tells me and I hear her voice break.

"Rossi's refusing treatment until he speaks to both of us." Luke tells me walking into the room

* * *

"What's going on?" I asked Rossi as we walked into his room

"Shut up and listen. All right. First, you, go through my pants pockets and find my keys." He tells Luke, "Second, you, you're back on the team." Rossi says to me

"Not sure I should be. Has the director approved that?" I asked him

"I'm making the calls now. I'll take the heat. You're back on the team."

"I got them." Luke tells him

"There's a little one there to a file cabinet in my office. You following me?" He asked

"Yeah. Following you."

"Inside, there's Chicago Bears season tickets. When you get them, you call Matt Simmons. I promised him those tickets." Rossi says and I look at him confused

"They must have given him something in the ambulance to make him loopy." Luke says to me

"I'll get the doctor. We'll get him into surgery."

"Just shut up and listen." Rossi tells us, "Reid, Elizabeth is missing, Stephen is dead. As for you two ass clowns, you'll do me the courtesy of following my orders."

"Your orders aren't making sense." Luke tells him

"Follow my orders, and then I'll go into surgery."

Me and Luke walked out of the room, "This has got nothing to do with season tickets." Luke pointed out

"Ass clown?" I asked

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I laid there in the bed with my eyes closed as I mumbled to myself, "Taking a little mindfulness break?" I hear Scratch ask and I open my eyes seeing him stand there clipping his nails, "Trying to control your breathing? That's smart." He tells me, "It'll keep you sane And I need you sane. Oh, how rude." He says and brushed the nail clippings off of me

"Look. I'm only alive because you want something. So what do you want?" I asked him

"Information that only you have."

"What are you waiting for, then? Dose me with your drugs, the ones that make me see whatever delusion you suggest, and I'll tell you what you want." I tell him

"Hmm, I would love nothing more than that. Unfortunately, in your current physical condition, the sevoflurane and scopolamine would send you into a stroke."

"I guess we're at a stalemate, then." I point out

"No. I still have drugs that can make you talk, just different drugs." He tells me and picked up a bottle, "This is morphine. This is what is making your life very livable right now. Without this your body will be on fire, and then you really will tell me everything I want, no delusion necessary."

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"I can't arrest him." I tell Luke as we walked into the bullpen

"What?"

"Scratch. The second I see his face, or if he's hurt Liz in anyway, I am going to kill him. I tried to tell Rossi not to put me back on the team. You heard me." I said

"Yeah. I did."

I started to rub my eye again, "What's wrong with me?" I asked him

"My guess is, it's been going on since prison, but you haven't had time to notice. Everytime you get stressed, you go into tunnel vision. That's why you're rubbing your palm into your eye."

"Yeah.

"What does that sound like, Reid?" He asked me

"Sounds like PTSD."

"PTSS. That's what they're calling it now, post-traumatic stress syndrome, because it's not a disorder. It's an injury." He explained

"Well, what do I do? I mean, we're in crisis mode. I don't have time to process my emotional state."

"That's exactly when you make time, right? You ask for help. There's no shame in that. You're wife is in danger and we need you to help us find her. Alright?" He asked me and I looked up

"Rossi's office."

"Yeah. I'll handle that." He tells me

"No. There's someone in Rossi's office." I said and we walked up the steps and I opened the door seeing Garcia and Matt standing there, Garcia held her finger up telling us to be quiet then indicated with her hand for our phones which I handed to her and she put them in a box on Rossi's desk

"Ok. Now that we are secure, I got that for Rossi last year. Not only is it a cigar case, but it's also a Faraday case. It blocks all radio and cell signals. I think Scratch might be listening in on us with our cell phones, even when they're off." She tells us

"That explains why Rossi was so cagey in the hospital." Luke pointed out, "All right. Let's find these tickets." He says and moved over to the file cabinet Rossi told him about opening the drawer and we see it's filled with files, "What is this?" He asked

"Stephen was brought on board for one reason. That was to catch Scratch. That is his entire investigation into him. He kept all his records off site, updating Prentiss and Rossi through hard copies."

"If it's off the cloud, Scratch can't hack it. Have you guys read it?" I asked Matt

"No. Prentiss ordered it compartmentalized, eyes-only clearance, but she also felt there should be at least one fail safe who wasn't part of the BAU who knew about it just in case of emergency. That's why Garcia called me."

"All right. Let's dig in. I mean, this may be our only chance at stopping this bastard." Luke says and then we grabbed files opening them but something caught my attention

"Guys." I said and they all looked at me, "Liz was helping Stephen." I tell them and my heart sank. That's why he took her.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

As I laid there my body began to burn like he told me it would, "Look. Ok. Look. Whatever it is, we can discuss it. You don't have to do this. Just give me the morphine, ok, and-and just...you can ask whatever you want. It was our investigation into you? Is that it? Is that what you want to know?" I asked him

"Tangentially."

"Oh! Nngh!" I groaned as the pain continued, "Then what? Tell me. Tell me. Then I'll tell you. It's that simple. Tell me, and I'll tell you." I begged, normally I wouldn't but I couldn't take it anymore.

"Yeah. I believe you will now. There is a certain dearly departed team member of yours that I would like to discuss with you." He tells me

"Stephen."

"No, not Stephen. This one isn't dead, at least not yet. This agent and I had a little tete-a-tete, and I crossed a line I shouldn't have. I really couldn't help myself, and I started to stalk his son," He says and it hits me, "and do you know what he did, that coward? He went into witness protection and he has been very difficult to find ever since, so that's what I want to know. I want you to tell me where your brother is because I know you know."

"No." I tell him and I close my eyes trying to hold the tears back, "Oh, stop. No."

"Yes, Elizabeth. Where is Aaron Hotchner?" He asked me

"I don't know where Aaron is. I don't. That's how WITSEC works. He has to be hidden from us because of men like you."

"Do you recognize this?" He asked me and held up a phone, "Well, it was a text exchange you had with a series of burner phones, and a last text exchange between you and this mystery man reads, 'Honduras connection is a go. Hunting down all leads to B-cap in DC. Thanks. A.H.'" He reads I close my eyes, "Let's get down to the question at hand." He tells me and grabbed a small metal hammer then moved the blanket down then put it on one of the needles that was in my leg fixture, "Where is your big brother?"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. He never gave me an address. All we did was text." I tell him

"No. Last chance."

"Vermont. He's somewhere in Vermont." I said and he pulled a needle out, "Aah!"

* * *

 **Spencer POV...**

"Hi." I hear Luke say and I see him on his phone, "I'm sorry. You don't want to do that, Monica." He tells her, "Ok. I'll come get you now." He said and hung up

"Stephen's wife?" I asked him and he nodded, "Tell her I'm sorry." I tell him and he left then I looked back at the file I had and noticed something

* * *

"Elizabeth texted Hotch?" Garcia asked me looking at the file

"According to Stephen's documentation, yes."

"It must have been a coordinated attempt to share intel. Would Hotch have exposed himself like this?" Matt asked

"No, and neither would she, Liz wouldn't risk it," I said moving over to the board, "And she wouldn't rely on a hackable app, and she sure as hell wouldn't write 'A.H.' in a text. That defeats the purpose of compartmentalizing the investigation."

"It was a smoke screen. Stephen had a background in counterintelligence. He must have designed this. He faked the Hotch side of the conversation to entice Scratch to make a move." Matt pointed out

"The size and scale of which indicate desperation, a desperation he hasn't shown after a year of hiding, so why now?" I asked

"A.H. is a pretty big red flag. Maybe that's what brought him out." Matt says

"Well, they used Hotch's initials in other texts before." Garcia pointed out

"Then they found something else, something they knew would rattle him." I said and ooked at the board that I wrote the last message on, "B-cap. What's B-cap?" I asked

"Geography maybe. I mean, it's mentioned in relevance to DC." Matt replied and I started to rub my eye again as my vision blurred a little

"Maybe its a code name for a partner." Garcia added

"I can't see it." I mentioned

"Hey, no. Why don't we kick it over to the team? Maybe they can suss out..."

"No. No time." I said cutting Garcia off, "Get out."

"What?" Garcia asked me as I put my hands on her shoulders moving her to the door

"Get out. Sorry. You, too." I tell Matt, "I'm really sorry, but get out."

"Let me get this, and then I'm gonna go." Garcia grabbed her computer then when they walked out I shut the door then walked back over to the board. I can't stop now, I just got back into Liz's life and I am not gonna lose her to this psychopath.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Where is that place that you go to to ground yourself?" Scratch asked me breaking me out of my thoughts and I opened my eyes, "I'd like to know."

"So you can destroy it." I point out, "See, I've read your case file, before you attacked my brother. I've read about how your father was killed when you were 13, and earlier, you said something about crossing a line when it came to stalking a child. My nephew, Jack, he's 13 now, too."

"I'm not a pedophile. I'm insulted by your inference."

"No. Your interest in Jack is clinical. You want to see what it will be like if he grows up without his father like you did. That's what I've been focusing on. After you kill Aaron, you'll never leave Jack alone. Am I right?" I asked him

"You are."

"Then let me tell you something, Peter. I almost died protecting someone else's child and she has become a part of our family, but Jack, he is my flesh and blood, I love him. I've watched Jack grow up, I've been there since day one, I had to listen on the other end of a phone call while his mother got murdered by a psychopath like you. I will not betray him or my brother. So you do what you want to me, I will not break." I tell him

"Let me test that resolve." He says and he grabbed something off the table bringing it close to my eye and I see it was a scalpel but I didn't blink, I didn't flinch, I wasn't gonna give him the satisfaction, "You make an interesting point. I need a plan B." He tells me and set the scalpel down and left.

I sighed in relief then I see the nurse walk by the plastic curtain, "Hey, you, come here." I tell him and he stopped then looked at me through the curtain, "Just for a second. Please, I just need a second." I begged

* * *

 **Garcia POV...**

"This I might be able to help with." Matt tells me pointing to my screen, "Elizabeth's last text had to do with Honduras. Scratch's last known sighting before tonight and the night he attacked her, was Honduras." He pointed out

"Right, and we thought Scratch fled there after he framed Reid for murder in Mexico and attack Elizabeth."

"Right. Elizabeth asked Prentiss to ask the IRT to contact our central American sources just to see if we could find anything. Now, we never did. We also never stopped to ask why Scratch was in Honduras in the first place." He says

"Reid'll figure this out. He's really amazing at this kind of thing." I tell him and suddenly we jump as something hits the window in the round room and we turn to see Reid walk back over to the board so we got up and walked into there.

"B-cap is short for Banisters caapi. It's a plant, specifically a hallucinogen that's found in a tea called ayahuasca." He tells us

"We worked a couple of those cases, I think. If I remember, it's like peyote." Matt pointed out

"Yeah, in multiple ways. They're similar legally in that taking them is considered a religious practice, and pharmacological, they're similar in that both drugs cause you to hallucinate intense, geometric patterns and vomit a lot."

"Ok. What does this have to do with Scratch?" I asked him and he rubbed his eye

"Well, Scratch has a cocktail of dis-associative drugs to induce delusions, but a mathematical mind like his would always be looking for ways to tweak and improve the formula."

"So he went to Honduras to look for it. He then brought it back to DC to experiment with it. Stephen and Elizabeth came to the same conclusion and tried to pretend like they were hot on his trail." Matt points out

"We need to track down all practitioners of the ceremony in the district Shamans, gurus, overnight religions that just hung their first shingle. He could be using one of their volunteers as a partner, either witting or unwitting." He tells us rubbing his neck then looked at us confused, "What?"

"You threw a book at a window. It was jarring." I tell him

"Took me 60 minutes to deduce what should have taken me 60 seconds, and if my wife dies because I was too slow, I'll be throwing a lot more than books." He said and walked out

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

"Please. Please help me." I begged the nurse when he walked over to the bed, "You don't even have to get me out of here. Just make a phone call. You can use my phone. Call 911, leave the phone, and run." I tell him as he grabbed a pressure cuff and put it around my arm

"I can't do that."

"I won't tell them you were involved." I promised him

"It's not that simple."

"You said we were both being taken care of. You mean trapped. He has your family, doesn't he?" I asked him and he looked at me then back out at the curtain before taking the cuff off of me, "Ok. My team can rescue them. It's what we do."

"I have to go."

"No. Please." I begged him

"I can't."

"Take my phone." I pleaded and he left, "Please take my phone."

"It's so hard to find good help these days." I hear Scratch say as he walked back in It seems like, no matter what, I'm left to do all the dirty work." He told me then held up a bottle putting a needle in it

"What is that? Is that the morphine?" I asked him

"It's amphetamine. I figured out my plan B. I can't torture the answers out of you, so I'll simply stop your heart instead." He says and inserted the needle into my I.V. hose then it hits me and I gasp hearing the heart monitor go crazy, "If you want to live, tell me what I want to know." He said grabbing the defibrillator, "Where's Hotch, Elizabeth? Where's your brother?" He asked me but my heart was beating out of my chest then suddenly everything went dark

* * *

I stood there looking at my body as the male nurse tried to revive me with the paddles but it didn't work, "Come on." He says but nothing happened and I looked at myself then went through the curtain walking into a cemetery heading over to an empty hole with a tombstone.

 _Elizabeth Reid_  
 _Oct. 23, 1974_  
 _April 18, 2011_

 _Sep. 21, 2011_  
 _?_

"Of course. I get it now. I get it." I tell myself then jump into the hole and the next thing I knew I felt myself being pulled back to my body

"That's it." I hear the nurse say and I come back, "Please, tell him what he wants. If you tell him what he wants, this can all be over. He'll release my family, and And then I can help you, ok?" He asked me after putting an oxygen mask over my mouth and I tell him something but it was muffled, "What? What's that?"

"Go get him."

* * *

 **JJ POV...**

"Scratch. Scratch took Elizabeth." Tara told us as I sat on the bed next to her, "I saw him."

"Yeah. We know. We're looking for him." Luke told her

"He dosed her."

"In the SUV while she was knocked out?" Rossi asked

"Yeah. He brought his gas with him."

"She would wake in a delusion he'd have total control over." I point out

"He think she knows where Hotch is, so he's trying to trick her. She's one of the smartest people we know. She'd see through it." Luke mentioned

"So Scratch would go even farther." I said

"Sometimes interrogators even simulate death. Man, he could make it feel like the real thing." Luke brought up

"No. That wouldn't work. Remember, Rossi, when Elizabeth told us about when she died, how for her, it was just dark and cold?" I asked him

"That's right. If he made her experience some out-of-body vision, she'd know it was a lie."

"Okay this is the second time I heard about this. What happened?" Luke asked

"A couple years ago Amanda got taken by a serial killer, we tracked him down but Elizabeth had Garcia give her the address because she was closer. The unsub stabbed Elizabeth then shot her in the arm. They lost her a couple times during the surgery and the second it took longer to bring her back." Rossi explained and Luke sighed.

* * *

 **Elizabeth POV...**

I moved my arm out from under the blanket, the arm he told me was broken and sighed in relief as I felt nothing wrong with them then sat up and moved the blanket back and the devices on my legs disappear and my pants reappeared then I rubbed my legs and looked over at where the heart monitor and I.V were then they vanished as well as the tools on the metal table, "Yeah. I get it." I said then looked at the curtain seeing a figure walk up to it so I quickly and quietly grabbed the blanket getting settled back into the bed putting my arm back where it was

"He's on his way, ok?" The nurse asked me then suddenly he faded away and Scratch was standing there, "Ok?"

"Yeah. Yeah ok." I tell him and he walked out

* * *

"If I would've known that putting you at death's door would get you to talk, I would've started with that. Now, are you ready to tell me where Hotch and Jack are?" He asked me and I nodded my head, "Good. Go ahead."

"They're at.." I said pretending like I couldn't get it out and he leaned closer

"Tell me."

"8..5" I tell him then grabbed his head and bit his ear

"Aagh! Aagh! Argh! Agh!"

I pushed him away then got off the bed and saw him open a drawer pulling out a gun so I ran and he fired it at me but I continued running then headed up a set of stairs

"FBI!" I hear Spencer yell and my heart leaped but I kept going when I hear a gun shot. I discarded the gown I was in and saw him enter where I was, "Elizabeth! Reid!" I hear Luke yell and Scratch turned then I shoved a metal shelf at him but he dodged it. I ran away just as he shot at me again.

"Liz!" I hear Spencer yell but I kept going then suddenly someone tackled me to the ground.

"You don't play very nicely do you?" Scratch says holding my hair, I wiped my head back hitting him and he grunted.

"You think you would learn the first time not to grab my hair." I tell him and saw his gun on the ground then went for it the same time he did but I managed to get it and shot at him only getting his arm as he ran away. I stand up and aim the gun looking around.

"Liz!" I hear Spence yell again but I ignored him.

"You and your brother have something in common Agent Reid." I hear Scratch say and I turn around thinking he was behind me but I didn't see him, "You both don't like to play by the rules." He says and I turn around again but nothing, "All you had to do was tell me where he was and this could have ended for you."

I turned again but then decided to calm myself and listen, "That's true, but there was just one flaw in your plan Peter. Wanna know what it was?" I asked him stepping forward a little and heard foot steps behind me then they stopped.

"What's that?" I heard him ask and I knew where he was.

"You fucked with the wrong family." I tell him and quickly whipped around and shot him getting his arm then continued firing.

"Liz!" I heard Spencer yell but this time it was closer and I kept shooting until Scratch was on the ground and the clip ran out but I kept pulling the trigger as tears stung my eyes, "Liz." Spencer says from behind me and he put his hand on my shoulder, "It's over Liz, he's dead." He tells me and I put my arm down dropping the gun and collapsed into my husbands arms and he lowered me to the ground carefully as the tears came out and I cried into his arms, "It's over sweetie. It's over, I got you." He says as he held on and I looked at Scratch's body.

* * *

"I'm telling you I'm fine. Come on Spence." I tell him as I sat up in the hospital bed and he smiled

"Why are you so stubborn?" He asked me sitting down on the bed and grabbed my hand.

"Because I hate hospitals, you know that."

He chuckled then kissed my hand, "I do, and I also know you were in a car accident and you need to rest."

"Ugh. You're such a pain in the ass." I tell him and he leaned forward and kissed

"But I'm your pain in the ass."

"That's true. Forever." I said and kissed him again then there was a knock at my door. We both looked and saw Emily standing there, "Hey, how are you feeling?" I asked her and she walked over.

"I'm doing better. You?"

"Well I feel much better but the doctor/husband doesn't believe me." I tell her and Spencer rolled his eyes.

"Well I hate to interrupt but you have a phone call." She tells me and I looked at her confused as she handed me her phone and I put it to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked

 _"Hi Aunt Liz."_ I hear Jack say and tears formed in my eyes

"Hi buddy." I answered and looked at Spencer, "It's Jack." I tell him and he wiped a tear away then kissed my hand and left the room with Emily, "How are you?"

 _"I'm good, dad told me you caught the bad guy."_

"I sure did Jack, I sure did." I tell him and I couldn't stop the tears from falling, "How is everything? Do you have any friends?"

 _"Everything is great, I like my school and my teacher, I have a few friends who hang out with me and we read comics after school and homework are done."_

"That's awesome buddy I'm so happy to hear that."

 _"I miss you."_ He said and my heart swelled, _"And Uncle Spence, Haley, Alexander."_

"We miss miss you too, both of you."

 _"Do you want to talk to dad?"_ He asked me

"Yeah, I would like that. I love you Jack."

 _"I love you too Aunt Liz."_ He said and I hear a muffled voice and some rustling

 _"Hi sis."_

I sighed wiping a tear away, "Hey big brother."

* * *

"We never get to say good-bye the way we want, and when we deal with a loss so sudden and cruel, our emotions can overwhelm us." Emily says to the people who gathered for Stephen's funeral and I stood by Spencer who had his arm around my waist and I wiped tears away, "Stephen Walker was a good agent, but he was a better man. He made the world a better place, and we can honor him by doing the work he never got to do." She says and Spencer kissed my head, I looked up at him giving a sad smile as we all took on last look at Stephen's coffin then I walked over and hugged Monica

"I'm so sorry." I tell her and she looked at me

"Thank you, for helping Stephen."

"He helped me. He was...is a wonderful man." I tell her and she hugged me again then I walked away going to Spencer who took my hand and kissed it as we headed to the cars.

* * *

We walked into the round room and saw Emily standing there, "I wanted to thank you for all of your help." She says to Matt

"Well, it was good to be of help. Ever since the IRT went down, I've been sitting on my hands waiting for a new assignment."

"We should sit down tomorrow. We can talk about that." She tells him

"I'd like that."

"So we all need to discuss what Peter Lewis' death means for this team." Emily says to all of us

"It means that Hotch can come back." Garcia mentioned and I put my hand on her arm

"I spoke to him. He was relieved that he and Jack were out of danger. They're out of Witness Protection, but, um..." I started to tell her

"He's not coming back, is he?" JJ asked me

"He loves being a full-time dad. He never got to do that before, and let's face it in this job, there's always gonna be another Scratch, and he's lost enough."

"We all have." Tara says

"Yes. We have, which is why the director has ordered us to take some time off from handling cases, but before we all leave, there's one last thing I need to say. When I was in the coma after he ambushed us the only way I was able to pull myself back was by repeating a mantra, two words. You know what those two words were?" She asked us and we look at her confused, "Wheels up." She tells us and I smiled, "It saved my life when I wasn't sure I was gonna make it because it reminded me that you were out there fighting, so take your rest, you've earned it, but when we get back, wheels up, Matt." She tells him

"Wheels up, Emily."

"Wheels up, Tara." She told her

"Wheels up."

"Wheels up." JJ says

"Wheels up." Garcia says

"Wheels up." Luke says

"Damn right, wheels up." Rossi said

"Wheels up" I say and looked at Spencer who put his arm around me

"Wheels up." He said

 **A/N: I'm not crying, you're crying.**


End file.
